LONDON (AP) 鈥 Lawmaker Simon Harris was elected Ireland's prime minister by a vote in parliament Tuesday, becoming at 37 the country鈥檚 youngest-ever leader.
Harris takes over as head of Ireland鈥檚 three-party coalition government from , who announced his surprise resignation last month. Harris, who served as higher education minister in Varadkar鈥檚 government, was the only candidate to replace him as head of the center-right Fine Gael party.
Lawmakers in the D谩il, the lower house of Ireland鈥檚 parliament, confirmed Harris as taoiseach, or prime minister, by a 88-69 vote.
He was formally appointed to the post by President Michael D. Higgins in a ceremony at the president's official residence in Dublin.
Harris was first elected to parliament at 24 and has been nicknamed the 鈥淭ikTok taoiseach鈥 鈥 pronounced TEA-shock -- because of his fondness for communicating on social media. He 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.
鈥淚 commit to doing everything that I can to honor the trust that you have placed in me today,鈥 Harris said. 鈥淎s taoiseach I want to bring new ideas, a new energy and a new empathy to public life.鈥
Varadkar was the previous youngest-ever premier when first elected at age 38, as well as Ireland鈥檚 first openly gay prime minister. Varadkar, whose mother is Irish and father is Indian, was also Ireland鈥檚 first biracial taoiseach.
Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach 鈥 between 2017 and 2020 and as part of a job-share with Miche谩l Martin, the head of Fianna F谩il.
Varadkar officially stepped down on Monday when he handed in his letter of resignation to the president.
Varadkar told the D谩il on Tuesday that his time in politics had been the 鈥渕ost fulfilling and rewarding time鈥 of his life.
鈥淏ut today is the beginning of a new era for my party, a new chapter in my life and a new phase for this coalition government,鈥 he said.
Harris has said he plans to keep the Fine Gael, Fianna F谩il and Green Party coalition government going until March 2025, when an election must be held.
Opposition parties argued that the Irish public deserves an early election.
鈥淎nother Fine Gael taoiseach is the last thing the people need,鈥 said Mary Lou McDonald, leader of left-wing party Sinn Fein. 鈥淲e need a change of leadership, we need a change of government.鈥
