Karamba Diaby's remark that he wants to spend time with family comes following gunshot and arson attacks on his workplace.

The first African-born MP to enter German parliament has announced that he will not run in next year's federal election, just weeks after revealing that he and his colleagues had received hate mail, including racist slurs and death threats.

Karamba Diaby, 62, who joined the Bundestag in 2013 at a historic moment for equality campaigners, said he wanted to spend more time with his family and create place for younger MPs.

But his announcement comes only weeks after he detailed a slew of hate mail he and his parliamentary staff had received.

Diaby stated that racist comments and death threats were "not the main reasons" for his decision, despite repeatedly emphasising that he would not be intimidated by threats. However, they are largely thought to have played a role.

In interviews, Diaby has highlighted an increasingly antagonistic tone in parliament and society, blaming the far-right populist AfD's 2017 election to the Bundestag.

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“Since 2017, the tone in the German parliament has become harsher,” he told the Berlin Playbook podcast of the news magazine Politico. “We hear aggressive speeches from colleagues of the AfD.

“We hear derogatory and hurtful content in these contributions. That is truly a totally new situation compared to the period between 2013 and 2017. This aggressive style of talking is fertile breeding ground for the violence and aggression on the streets.”

Diaby, of the Social Democrats (SPD), entered parliament alongside Charles M Huber, who served for the Christian Democrats for only one term. They were the first black members of the Bundestag, and their election was hailed as revolutionary and historic by equality activists.

Diaby, who holds a PhD in chemistry, was born in Senegal and migrated to East Germany in 1985.

In recent years, he has received an increasing amount of racist harassment. His constituency office in Halle, Saxony Anhalt, has been the victim of arson, with bullets fired through the window. According to Diaby, several employees have received blackmail efforts to stop working for him, as well as threats.

“In the last few years I’ve faced several murder threats. This has now overstepped the mark,” he said. “The hatred that the AfD sows every day with its misanthropic narratives is reflected in concrete psychological and physical violence. This endangers the cohesion of our society. We cannot simply accept this.”

Writing to party colleagues on Tuesday, Diaby promised to remain active in the SPD, especially in the 15 months leading to the election, saying: “We face big challenges and hard work.”

He added: “At the same time, I’m looking forward to having more time for my family and friends and our allotment.”