Simon Harris is set to become the youngest Irish prime minister ever (Picture: PA)
Following the surprise resignation of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar last month, Ireland is set to have its youngest-ever leader.
Simon Harris, 37, is set to become the new taoiseach for Ireland and is now leader of the Fine Gael after a climb up the political ladder from a seat on his local council.
Today, former PM Varadkar met with President Michael D Higgins in Dublin after officially resigning from his position.
In an interview with RTÉ News, Varadkar said becoming taoiseach is ‘almost impossible to prepare for’, and added: ‘So what I’ve said to Mr Harris, to Simon, is to be himself, to trust himself.’
Harris’s rapid rise in politics could be attributed to his use of social media, which have prompted the nickname ‘TikTok taoiseach’.
But his new appointment as PM of Ireland will be the young politician’s biggest political achievement yet.
Political views
Harris is a member of the Fine Gael party – and now leads it (Picture: PA)
After studying French and journalism briefly at the Dublin Institute of Technology before leaving to work as an assistant to the leader of the opposition in the Senate.
In 2009, he was elected to his local county council, beginning a career in politics which propelled him to join the Fine Gael party.
The Fine Gael party is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party.
After being elected to Irish Parliament at the age of 24, he was later appointed minister for health, a top cabinet post.
In 2018, he helped campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which effectively banned abortion in Ireland – a move which increased his popularity with young people.
Personal life
Harris has two children with his wife Caoimhe (Picture: PA)
Born in Greystones, south of Dublin, to a taxi driver father and a school special needs assistant mother, Harris’s worth ethic was seen at a young age.
Neale Richmond, a junior minister who has known Harris for two decades, told The Guardian: ’The work ethic comes from his parents, they’re work, work, work.
‘Simon is very good craic and obsessed with politics. Always in a rush, he walks very quickly and talks very quickly. It’s all about what you can do as quickly as possible.’
When he was a teenager, Harris campaigned for more information around autism after his brother was diagnosed.
Harris and his brother Adam went on to co-found an autism charity called AsIAm, which Adam now heads up.
Harris married his longtime love, nurse Caoimhe Wade, in 2017, and the couple have two children – Saoirse and Cillian – whom they post on social media occasionally.
Controversies
Harris has had a few run-ins with controversy (Picture: Reuters)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Harris came under fire for the situation in nursing homes.
He also stated during an interview that Covid-19 indicated there were 19 other coronaviruses. He later apologised and said he was an ‘awful old idiot at times’.
During a period of flooding in 2015, when Harris was acting as minister of state, he denied accusations that the government had not used £11 million in the budget for relief works that could have helped fund flood defences.
In 2018, he was slammed for his handling of the Health Service Executive crisis that saw 206 women develop cervical cancer due to inaccurate tests.
At the time, Harris said he ‘truthfully didn’t know’ how many women have died from cervical cancer after incorrect smear test results.
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