Leo Varadkar

Minister for Transport, Tourism, and Sport: 2011–2014

When Fine Gael formed a coalition government with the Labour Party, Varadkar was appointed Minister for Transport, Tourism, and Sport on 9 March 2011.^[21] This was considered a surprise appointment, as Varadkar was not known as a sports lover. He said that while he knew "a lot of facts...I don't play the sports."^[22]

In May 2011, Varadkar suggested Ireland was "very unlikely" to resume borrowing in 2012 and might need a second bailout, causing jitters on international markets about Ireland's credibility.^[23][24] Many of his cabinet colleagues frowned on Varadkar's forthrightness, as did the European Central Bank.^[25][26] Taoiseach Enda Kenny repeated the line of the Government of Ireland, that the State would not require a further EU-IMF bailout, and said he had warned all Ministers against publicly disparaging the economy.^[27][28] Varadkar said that reaction to the story was hyped up but that he was not misquoted.^[29] The Evening Herald has repeatedly described the minister as gaffe prone.^[30][31]

Minister for Health: 2014–2016

Varadkar at the opening of a unit at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, July 2014

In the cabinet reshuffle of July 2014, Varadkar replaced James Reilly as Minister for Health.^[32][33]

He was returned to the Dáil at the February 2016 general election. He retained the health portfolio in an acting capacity until May that year, due to the delay in government formation. In one of his final acts as Minister for Health, Varadkar cut €12 million from the €35 million allocated to that year's budget for mental health care, telling the Dáil that the cuts were "necessary as the funding could be better used elsewhere."^[34]

Minister for Social Protection: 2016–2017

On 6 May 2016, after government formation talks had concluded, Enda Kenny appointed Varadkar as Minister for Social Protection.^[35] During his time in the Ministry, he launched a campaign against welfare fraud.^[36]

Taoiseach and Leader of Fine Gael: 2017–present

Wikinews has related news: Leo Varadkar becomes first openly gay elected Taoiseach of Ireland, succeeds Enda Kenny

On 2 June 2017, Varadkar was elected leader of Fine Gael, defeating Simon Coveney.^[37] Although Coveney had the support of more Fine Gael members than Varadkar, the electoral college system more strongly weighted the votes of the party's parliamentarians, with these strongly backing Varadkar.^[38]

Like Enda Kenny, Varadkar relied upon the support of Independents and the abstention of Fianna Fáil TDs to support his premiership. On 14 June 2017, he was appointed Taoiseach in a 57–50 vote with 47 abstentions.^[39] He became Ireland's first openly gay Taoiseach, as well as the youngest.^{[nb 1]} He is not, however, the youngest head of government in the Irish Republic; both Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins were younger on assuming the office. He is also the first head of government who is of half-Indian descent.^[40] It was also the first time that one Fine Gael Taoiseach was succeeded by another.^{[nb 2]}

One of Varadkar's first acts as Taoiseach was to announce a referendum on abortion for 2018. He said that the government would lay out a road map for how to achieve a low carbon economy.^[41]

His government nearly collapsed as a result of the Garda whistleblower scandal and Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Frances Fitzgerald's role in it. Fianna Fáil, who were in a confidence-and-supply agreement with Fine Gael, threatened a motion of no confidence in the Tánaiste. This action would have collapsed the government and caused a general election. Despite days of gridlock, the crisis was averted, after Fitzgerald resigned from the cabinet to prevent the election, which most of the country did not want due to the possibly of it jeopardising the Irish position in Brexit negotiations. Shortly after this, Varadkar appointed former leadership rival and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Coveney as Tánaiste, Heather Humphreys as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and Josepha Madigan as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in a small reshuffle of the cabinet.

Shortly after the Fitzgerald crisis, an impasse was reached in the Brexit talks, as leader of the DUP Arlene Foster objected to a deal agreed to by Varadkar, PM Theresa May and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. This prevented an agreement from being reached as the deadline approached. Varadkar stated he was 'surprised' and 'disappointed' the UK couldn't reach a deal. However, later in the week a consensus deal was finalised. Varadkar stated he had received guarantees from the UK there would be no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. He later said he and his cabinet had 'achieved all we set out to achieve' during the talks before quoting former British PM Winston Churchill by saying 'This is not the end, this is the end of the beginning". An Irish Times poll taken during these days showed Varadkar with a 53% approval rating, the highest for any Taoiseach since 2011, and showed Fine Gael with an eleven-point lead over Fianna Fáil. Government satisfaction was also at 41%, the highest in almost 10 years.^[42] Irish Times columnist Pat Leahy claimed Varadkar had ended 2017 'on a high' and IrishCentral called it the Taoiseach's 'finest hour'.^[43][44] In January 2018, his approval reached 60%, a ten-year high for any Taoiseach.^[45]

In January 2018, he announced that the referendum to repeal Ireland's 8th Amendment which prevented any liberalisation of restrictive abortion laws would take place in May. If passed, it would allow the government to introduce new legislation. It was proposed that women would be allowed unrestricted access to abortion up until 12 weeks, with exceptions if the mother's life is in danger up until six months. Varadkar said he would campaign for liberalising the laws, saying his mind was changed by difficult cases during his tenure as Minister for Health.^[46] The referendum was passed by a 2:1 majority.