Ireland Elects Youngest PM Ever

Lawmaker Simon Harris was elected Ireland's prime minister by a vote in parliament Tuesday, becoming at 37 the country's youngest-ever leader. As the AP reports, Harris takes over as head of Ireland's three-party coalition government from Leo Varadkar, who announced his surprise resignation last month. Harris, who served as higher education minister in Varadkar's government, was the only candidate to replace him as head of the center-right Fine Gael party. Lawmakers in the Dail, the lower house of Ireland's parliament, confirmed Harris as taoiseach, or prime minister, by an 88-69 vote. Varadkar was the previous youngest-ever premier when first elected at age 38, as well as Ireland's first openly gay and first biracial prime minister.

Harris was first elected to parliament at 24 and has been nicknamed the "TikTok Taoiseach"—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 won't run for reelection. "I commit to doing everything that I can to honor the trust that you have placed in me today," Harris said. "As taoiseach I want to bring new ideas, a new energy, and a new empathy to public life."

Harris has said he plans to keep the Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, 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. "Another Fine Gael taoiseach is the last thing the people need," said Mary Lou McDonald, leader of left-wing party Sinn Fein. "We need a change of leadership, we need a change of government." (More Simon Harris stories.)