Indian-origin Ireland PM re-elected under rotation deal
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Indian-origin politician Leo Varadkar has taken charge as Ireland's Prime Minister for a second term. He replaced Micheal Martin as Taoiseach (premier). 43-year-old Varadkar is one of the youngest leaders Ireland has ever seen. He is biracial and openly gay.
He became the youngest Taoiseach at the age of 38 even though Ireland is known for its conservative Catholic morality. It is rare for a gay man to be in a leadership role.
Varadkar's Fine Gael and Martin's Fianna Fail parties struck a coalition deal in 2020 and are governing on the basis of a rotation deal. The Centre-right parties are the two main political partners in the three-party coalition.
At a special sitting of the Irish parliament, he said: "I accept this nomination with humility and resolve and a burning desire... to provide new hope and new opportunities for all our citizens." He paid tribute to Martin and said he provided "reassurance and hope in difficult times." Martin in a social media video said it had been "the honour of a lifetime to serve" as Taoiseach.
Varadkar's mother is an Irish nurse and his father is an Indian immigrant doctor. He also got his medical degree from Trinity College Dublin and went into general practice. In 2007, he first secured an election for Fine Gael in Dublin West. He came out as gay in 2015 before the country legalised same-sex marriage.
He previously served under Taoiseach Enda Kenny as Minister for Social Protection from 2016 to 2017, Minister for Health from 2014 to 2016, and Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from 2011 to 2014. He also served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment from 2020 to 2022. In May 2017, Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced that he would resign, Varadkar stood in the leadership election to replace him and won by a significant margin.
