Indian-origin gay minister Leo Varadkar set to become Ireland PM

June 02, 2017 23:35

Leo Varadkar, the son of a Mumbai-born doctor and Irelands first openly gay minister, will be the next Irish prime minister, after he was voted leader of the countrys main governing party on Friday.

Varadkars victory in the Fine Gael leadership contest, which took place after outgoing PM Enda Kenny announced his resignation last month, marks another significant step forward for equality in the country, after 2015s gay marriage referendum.

As well as becoming Irelands first gay prime minister, Varadkar, 38, will also become the countrys youngest leader, and the first from an ethnic minority background. His position will be confirmed later this month when parliament resumes after a break.

Varadkar is the youngest child of Ashok Varadkar, who met his future wife Miriam, a nurse, while working in Britains National Health Service in the 1960s.

He was a practising doctor before joining politics and being elected in 2007. He made news in 2015 when he came out as gay, an announcement that was initially met with some shock by his father but who, he said later, was very supportive.

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