Former prime minister Scott Morrison is to quit politics, confirming he plans to resign from Parliament when it returns in February.

“After more than 16 years as the member for Cook, I have decided to leave Parliament at the end of February to take on new challenges in the global corporate sector and spend more time with my family,” Morrison wrote in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday.

It followed confirmation from Liberal Party sources to The New Daily of his plans to formally resign when Parliament resumes on February 6.

Morrison did not detail is new role, but there are multiple reports it is in the US.

The Australian reports he will have strategic advisory roles and sit on private boards, “drawn from a network established through AUKUS and the QUAD” security agreement.

His retirement will trigger a byelection in his safe Liberal seat in southern Sydney.

“I am extremely grateful to my family, friends, local community and local party members and supporters in Cook for their incredible support during this time, that has enabled me to serve my country at the highest level and make Australia a stronger, more secure and more prosperous country,” he wrote.

“It has been a great honour to serve as the member for Cook and as prime minister.”

Morrison entered Parliament in 2007. He held the immigration, social security and treasury portfolios before winning the Liberal leadership in 2018.

He remained PM until the Coalition lost the May 2022 election.

He quit as Liberal leader after that, and his resignation from Parliament had been widely expected in the months since.

Despite multiple reports he was about to do so, this is the first time Morrison has publicly confirmed it.

“I also thank my staff and parliamentary colleagues over the years for their friendship and support, especially my deputy leader Josh Frydenberg and deputy PMs Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce. I also want to wish Peter Dutton and his team all the very best and congratulate him on the great job he has done leading our party and the Coalition since the last election,” he wrote.

“By giving advance notice of my intention to leave Parliament at the end of February, this will give my party ample time to select a great new candidate who I know will do what’s best for our community and bring fresh energy and commitment to the job.

“I now look forward to continue to enjoying local life here in the Shire and my church community at Horizon with my family and friends.”

Morrison’s retirement will mean voters face their fourth byelection since the 2022 election.

It follows the resignations of former Coalition cabinet members Alan Tudge and Stuart Robert from Aston and Fadden respectively, and the death of Labor’s Peta Murphy in Dunkley.

The Dunkley byelection will be held on March 2.