Varadkar announced on Wednesday, March 20, that he was quitting immediately as head of Fine Gael party, part of Ireland’s coalition government. He’ll be replaced as prime minister after a party leadership contest.
"I am resigning the presidency and leadership of Fine Gael and will resign as Taoiseach as soon as my successor is able to take up that office," an emotional Varadkar told reporters in Dublin. He said his reasons were "both personal and political."
Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach, or prime minister — between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022. He was the country’s youngest-ever leader when first elected, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister. Varadkar, whose mother is Irish and father is Indian, was also Ireland’s first biracial taoiseach.
“I’m proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place,” he said in a resignation statement in Dublin.