Hungary's president resigns

BUDAPEST - The Associated Press

Hungarian President Pal Schmitt, seated in the session hall during the plenary session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, April 2, 2012. AP photo

Hungarian President Pal Schmitt said Monday he is resigning after losing his doctorate in a plagiarism scandal.

Schmitt, who was elected to his largely ceremonial office in 2010 for a five-year term, said in a speech at the start of Parliament's plenary session that he is stepping down because his "personal issue" is dividing Hungary.

His 1992 doctorate was revoked last week after an investigation at Budapest's Semmelweis University found that most of his thesis about the modern Olympic Games had been copied from the work of two other authors.

Soon after Schmitt spoke, Hungary's governing Fidesz Party said it plans to have Parliament vote later Monday to accept the resignation and to have the legislators choose his successor as soon as possible.