Simon Harris has been elected the youngest PM of Ireland

Simon Harris has been elected the youngest prime minister of the Republic of Ireland on 9 April 2024. In Ireland, the prime minister is called Taoiseach. He will succeed Leo Varadkar, who resigned in March 2024. At the age of 37, he is the youngest prime minister in Ireland. Before him, the Indian-born prime minister Leo Varadkar was the youngest prime minister of Ireland. Leo Varadkar became prime minister at the age of 38 in 2017.

How is the Prime Minister elected in Ireland?

Ireland is a parliamentary democracy with a President as the Head of State. However, the executive power of the government is vested in the prime minister, who is also called a taoiseach. 

Ireland has a bicameral parliament called the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas have two houses: the Dáil and the Seanad Éireann (Senate). The Dail is the popularly elected lower house, just like the Lok Sabha of India, and its members are directly elected by the people. The total number of members of the Dail is 158. 

According to Ireland's constitution, the prime minister is elected by the members of the Dail. The prime minister, the deputy prime minister, and the minister for finance must also be members of the Dáil. 

Thus, Simon Harris was elected by Dail by 88-69 votes. 

Simon Harris to lead a coalition government

Simon Harris is from the Fine Gael party, which emerged as the third-largest party in the country after the 2020 parliamentary election.

Simon Harris leads a coalition government with support from the Fianna Fail party, the Green Party and some independents.

Simon Harris became a member of parliament at the age of 24 years. In 2016 at the age of 29 years, he was appointed the country’s health minister and Education Minister in 2020.

He was elected unopposed as the new leader of the centre-right Fine Gael party last month after Leo Vardakar's resignation.

Republic Of Ireland 

• It is a west European country situated along the Atlantic Ocean. It is a member of the European Union and a member of the eurozone. 
• It was conquered by England and made a part of the United Kingdom. In 1921 it became a self-governing dominion under the United Kingdom/ British Empire.
• In 1949 it left the British Empire and became the Republic of Ireland.
• The Directive Principles of State Policy of the Indian constitution have been borrowed from Ireland's Constitution.

Capital: Dublin

Currency: Euro

Prime Minister: Simon Harris