* Carrie Lam says 'it's time for me to go home'
* HK No. 2 official to run in leadership race -media
* Election to take place on May 8 after COVID delay (Adds response from chief secretary's office)
By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
HONG KONG, April 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam, who has governed the global financial hub through the unprecedented upheaval of anti-government protests and COVID-19, said on Monday she will not seek a second five-year term of office.
Lam's announcement came as media said Chief Secretary John Lee, Hong Kong's second most senior official, was set to resign to join the race to replace Lam in May as the Chinese-ruled city's next leader.
"There’s only one consideration and that is family. I have told everyone before that family is my first priority," Lam told a regular press briefing.
"They think it’s time for me to go home."
She declined to comment on possible candidates to replace her and said she had not decided on her future plans.
Lam, born in British-ruled Hong Kong in 1957 and a life-long civil servant who describes herself as a devout Catholic, took office in 2017 with a pledge to unite a city that was growing increasingly resentful of Beijing's tightening grip.
Two years later, millions of democracy supporters took to the streets in sometimes violent anti-government protests. The unrest led to Beijing imposing a sweeping national security law in June 2020, giving it more power than ever to shape life in Hong Kong.
An exasperated Lam said at the height of the unrest in 2019 that if she had the choice she would quit, adding in remarks to a group of business people that the chief executive "has to serve two masters by constitution, that is the central people's government and the people of Hong Kong".
"Political room for manoeuvring is very, very, very limited," she added, according to an audio recording of her comments obtained by Reuters.
Lam said on Monday she had proposed a government restructuring to mainland authorities that would include new policy departments but it would be up to the city's next leader to decide whether to go ahead with the plan.
City leaders are selected by a small election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists so whoever becomes the next leader of the former British colony will do so with Beijing's tacit approval.
Lee, 64, a security official during the prolonged and often violent 2019 pro-democracy protests, was promoted in 2021 in a move some analysts said signalled Beijing's renewed focus on security rather than the economy.