UKIP East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer is to retire from the European Parliament at the end of July.
The political veteran was first elected to the parliament in 1999 as a Conservative but left the party to join UKIP in 2012.
He stood in the Newark Parliamentary by-election for UKIP in June 2014, which was won by Conservative Robert Jenrick.
Mr Helmer, 73, said: “It has been a great privilege to serve the voters of the East Midlands as their MEP for nearly two decades, spanning not just two centuries but two millennia.
“The main objective of my political career has been to free our country from the morass of the European Union, and to re-establish our proper status as a great global trading nation, and as a an independent, self-governing country.
“Despite the current turmoil around the Government’s position and the Brexit negotiations, I see last year’s Brexit vote as the vindication of a long campaign and a long career.”
He added: “There will inevitably be speculation that my retirement decision was influenced by the outcome of the June election. But this is not the case.
“I had reached a decision soon after the Brexit referendum to retire in 2017, and I signed the formal resignation papers in the parliament a couple of weeks before the General Election.”
Mr Helmer will be succeeded by Jonathan Bullock.
