Leo Varadkar elected Irish prime minister for second time

NEW YORK: Leo Varadkar has joined the ranks of current Indian descent prime ministers becoming the fourth outside India when he again became the Taoiseach of Ireland. The Fine Gael party leader assumed the prime ministership at the head of a coalition on Saturday under an agreement with partner Fianna Fail party to swap the leadership in the middle of its term.

The 43-year-old Varadkar had done a stint as prime minister or Taoiseach, as it is formally known in the Gaelic language - from 2017 to 2020. In a country that is 94 per cent white and 73 per cent Catholic, Varadkar broke through two barriers being openly gay and of Indian origin. Accepting the Taoiseach nomination, he said, "Our history over the last 100 years has been about winning the additional freedoms that were denied to us or which we were unable to imagine: Becoming a Republic. Becoming a place where you are not limited by your gender, religion, race, background or sexual orientation." His father Ashok Varadkar, a doctor who immigrated from Mumbai, his mother Miriam who is Irish, and his partner Matthew Barrett watched his election from the parliament gallery, the Dublin newspaper Sunday World reported.

Acknowledging them in his speech, Leo Varadkar said, "Thank you for your work, the love and support you have shown me. When we enter public life, we choose this path. Our loved ones do not." Before entering politics, Leo Varadkar followed his father's footsteps in the medical profession, reportedly doing an internship at Mumbai's KEM Hospital. (IANS)

Also Read: The World is Not Stupid, the World is not Forgetful: S Jaishankar

Also Watch: