On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to Simon Harris, who became Ireland’s youngest premier at the age of 37.
Harris will now take over as the head of Ireland’s three-party coalition government led by the centre-right Fine Gael party.
The 37-year-old Harris, who has been the coalition government’s further and higher education minister, was the only candidate to put his name forward to succeed Varadkar, who had been Ireland’s previous youngest prime minister.
On March 20, Varadkar announced his resignation due to personal and political reasons and said he had no plans, apart from remaining in parliament as a backbench lawmaker.
“Congratulations @SimonHarrisTD on becoming youngest ever Prime Minister of Ireland. Highly value our historical ties that are based on shared belief in democratic values. Looking forward to work together to further strengthen India- Ireland bilateral partnership,” said PM Modi on X.
Congratulations @SimonHarrisTD on becoming youngest ever Prime Minister of Ireland. Highly value our historical ties that are based on shared belief in democratic values. Looking forward to work together to further strengthen India- Ireland bilateral partnership.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 10, 2024
Harris was formally appointed to the post by President Michael D Higgins in a ceremony at the president’s official residence in Dublin.
Lawmakers in the Dáil, the lower house of Ireland’s parliament, confirmed Harris as taoiseach, or prime minister, by an 88-69 vote.
He now faces challenges including a strained health service, soaring housing costs and an exodus of Fine Gael lawmakers, more than 10 of whom have said they will not run for reelection.
‘I commit to doing everything that I can to honour the trust that you have placed in me today’, Harris said.
He added, ‘As taoiseach I want to bring new ideas, a new energy and a new empathy to public life’. At the age of 16 years, Harris joined Fine Gael’s youth branch and advanced through the ranks fast. He was elected to parliament in 2011 at the age of 24, having served as a county councillor at the age of 22.
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