Leo Varadkar is a former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, having served from 2017 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2024. He spent 13 years in Ireland’s Cabinet, holding ministerial portfolios including Transport, Tourism and Sport; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Social Protection; and Health. When first elected Taoiseach, he was Ireland’s youngest-ever holder of the office and the country’s first openly gay and first biracial Taoiseach.
During his premierships, Varadkar played a central role in Ireland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in navigating Brexit, including efforts to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, protect the Good Friday Agreement, and safeguard Ireland’s position within the European Union and its Single Market. He also advanced Ireland’s participation in European defence and security cooperation and oversaw increased international development spending, during a period in which Ireland was elected to the UN Security Council.
His governments introduced a range of social, economic, workers’ rights and climate measures, including statutory sick pay, paternity and parental leave, expanded childcare support, free schoolbooks and hot school meals, and new climate legislation with legally binding emissions targets. His government also advanced investment in renewable energy, public housing, transport, schools and healthcare, while establishing a Child Poverty and Wellbeing Programme to coordinate cross-government action.
Varadkar resigned as leader of Fine Gael in March 2024, stepped down as Taoiseach in April, and retired from public life later that year. In April 2025, he joined Penta Group as a Global Advisor and serves on its Global Advisory Board. He is also a member of the boards of Global Citizen Europe and the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), and writes a column for The Sunday Times Ireland. He is a life member of Ireland’s Council of State.
A medical doctor by training, Varadkar is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. In September 2025, he published his autobiography, Speaking My Mind.
Leo Varadkar
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Leo Varadkar is a former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, having served from 2017 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2024. He spent 13 years in Ireland’s Cabinet, holding ministerial portfolios including Transport, Tourism and Sport; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Social Protection; and Health. When first elected Taoiseach, he was Ireland’s youngest-ever holder of the office and the country’s first openly gay and first biracial Taoiseach.
During his premierships, Varadkar played a central role in Ireland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in navigating Brexit, including efforts to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, protect the Good Friday Agreement, and safeguard Ireland’s position within the European Union and its Single Market. He also advanced Ireland’s participation in European defence and security cooperation and oversaw increased international development spending, during a period in which Ireland was elected to the UN Security Council.
His governments introduced a range of social, economic, workers’ rights and climate measures, including statutory sick pay, paternity and parental leave, expanded childcare support, free schoolbooks and hot school meals, and new climate legislation with legally binding emissions targets. His government also advanced investment in renewable energy, public housing, transport, schools and healthcare, while establishing a Child Poverty and Wellbeing Programme to coordinate cross-government action.
Varadkar resigned as leader of Fine Gael in March 2024, stepped down as Taoiseach in April, and retired from public life later that year. In April 2025, he joined Penta Group as a Global Advisor and serves on its Global Advisory Board. He is also a member of the boards of Global Citizen Europe and the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), and writes a column for The Sunday Times Ireland. He is a life member of Ireland’s Council of State.
A medical doctor by training, Varadkar is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. In September 2025, he published his autobiography, Speaking My Mind.
Books
Speaking My Mind
Articles & Videos
James O'Brien meets Leo Varadkar | Full Disclosure
Varadkar explore his extraordinary rise from a mixed-heritage childhood, to leading his country through Brexit battles, historic referendums and the turbulence of the pandemic
The World Is Tilting East | Leo Varadkar | Tank Talks Asia
Varadkar talks truthfully about the loneliness of executive decision-making and gives his views on the rise of Asia, US politics under Donald Trump
Speaking My Mind | Leo Varadkar in Conversation With Georgina Godwin
Varadkar reflects on a life at the crossroads of change, sharing candid encounters with world leaders, moments of triumph and turbulence, and the personal costs of public service
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