Simon Harris, the Irish further and higher education minister, has been confirmed as the new leader of Fine Gael, paving the way for him to become the country’s youngest taoiseach (prime minister) at the age of 37. He is replacing Leo Varadkar who stepped down as party leader and taoiseach on Wednesday. Harris was the only candidate to seek the party leadership and was elected unopposed.
He said that becoming leader of the party “is the honour of my life to lead this great party, our great party, Fine Gael,” thanking the party and those that elected him for trusting him, adding that he will “repay that trust in hard work.” Harris is not expected to make any final decisions on his cabinet until the Dáil (Irish parliament) is back on 9 April.
Harris has served as a minister in the Irish cabinet for the past eight years and had a rapid rise through the party ranks, landing his first cabinet role as health minister in 2016. In this role, he oversaw Ireland’s vote to overturn its abortion ban and the country’s cervical cancer screening scandal. He also oversaw the initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He has since been minister for further and higher education, research, innovation, and science, and briefly took on the justice portfolio.
Fine Gael Senator Emer Currie, the party’s Northern Ireland spokesperson, described Harris as part of a new generation of nationalist politicians “not shy about their nationalist aspirations.” She also said that the new party leader is “very much interested in all-island issues,” in particular, giving Northern Irish students more opportunities to study in the Republic of Ireland
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