Leo Varadkar was Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, of Ireland from 2017-2020 and again from 2022-2024. He served in cabinet for 13 years in the Ministries of Transport, Tourism & Sport, Enterprise, Trade, Employment, Social Protection and Health.
As Taoiseach, Varadkar received international recognition for his leadership of Ireland’s public health and economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. He led Ireland through Brexit preventing a hard border between North and South, maintaining Ireland's place at the heart of the European Union, its single market and upholding the Good Friday Agreement. The Governments he participated in lifted Ireland’s ban on abortion and improved LGBT rights including the introduction of marriage equality and a gender recognition law. He also prioritized equality between men and women including gender pay gap reporting, greater diversity on state and corporate boards and linking state funding for political parties to election candidate quotas.
A strong supporter of Irish unification, he allocated over a €1billion to North-South projects under the Shared Island Fund and helped to get the power-sharing institutions of the Good Friday Agreement operating again.
During his premiership, Ireland dramatically increased its budget for international development and was elected to serve on the UN Security Council.
At the time of leaving office, Ireland had record levels of employment and a budget surplus allowing for increased levels of investment in public infrastructure like new public housing, public transport, climate action, new schools and healthcare facilities to ameliorate the country's considerable infrastructure deficits. He also doubled spending on the arts, culture and sport and significantly enhanced workers rights including the introduction of paternity benefit, paid parental leave, statutory sick pay, new protections for the self-employed and major progress towards a living wage and occupational pensions for all workers.
Greenhouse gas emissions reached a 30 year low during his premiership on foot of a new climate law with legally-binding targets, a ban on new fossil fuel exploration licenses, major investment in renewable energy and a carbon tax with revenues ring-fenced for climate initiatives.
As Taoiseach, he established a Child Poverty and Wellbeing Program to drive cross-government work on the matter. Early results include the introduction of free school books, hot school meals, subsidized childcare, better access to higher education for lone parents and higher welfare payments for children in greatest need.
He is a medical doctor, qualified GP and a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. He is a member of Ireland's Council of State.