Youngest prime minister

Simon Harris becomes the new head of government of Ireland

(Bild: AFP)

Simon Harris is to become the new head of government of Ireland. The parliament in Dublin elected the 37-year-old on Tuesday as the successor to Leo Varadkar, who resigned unexpectedly. Harris, who was previously Minister for Higher Education, was elected by 88 votes to 69. He will now be the youngest prime minister of his country.

Harris - born in October 1986 - has already held several cabinet posts. Two weeks ago, he was the only candidate for the post of party leader of the liberal-conservative ruling party Fine Gael. The coalition partners - the equally liberal-conservative Fianna Fáil party and the Greens - support his election as head of government.

Opposition calls for new elections
The left-wing opposition party Sinn Fein, on the other hand, called for new elections. MP Pearse Doherty criticized that Harris would already be the third prime minister within one legislative period. Ireland, with a population of over 5.1 million, must elect a new parliament by spring 2025 at the latest.

Varadkar surprisingly resigns
The previous head of government Varadkar had surprisingly announced his resignation in mid-March. The 45-year-old cited personal and political reasons. On Monday evening, he officially submitted his resignation to the President of the EU member state Ireland.

His government had recently suffered defeats in two referendums: it wanted to modernize two passages in the constitution on the concept of family and the role of women in the household, but did not receive a majority. Varadkar was also accused of making mistakes in social and housing policy.