Leo Varadkar who is of Indian origin will take over as Prime Minister of Ireland for the second time on December 17, 2022. He is mixed race, openly gay and one of Ireland’s youngest leaders. He was a fresh face when he took the helm of governing Fine Gael in 2017.
However, after two and a half years, it was claimed that he had lost his shine. He was born in Dublin to an Irish mother who worked as a nurse and an Indian immigrant father who is a doctor. He obtained a medical degree from Trinity College, Dublin and went into general practice but later entered into politics.
In 2015, when Ireland legalised same-sex marriage, Varadkar came out openly as gay. His partner Matthew Barrett is a cardiologist. This revelation earned him praise from all quarters of Irish politics. He has been considered an effective communicator who led the country into the first lockdown which was the longest and most stringent imposed in Europe.
