Leo Varadkar was elected leader of Fine Gael in on 2 June 2017 and was appointed as Taoiseach on 14 June 2017.[4] At 38 years old he became the youngest person to hold the office, and Ireland's first openly gay head of government.[5] He later served as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022 before becoming Taoiseach again in December 2022.[6][7]
On 20 March 2024, Varadkar announced that he would resign as Fine Gael leader immediately, and as Taoiseach once a successor was elected.[11][12] In his resignation speech, Varadkar stated that the reasons for his stepping down were "both personal and political" and that he was no longer the "best person for the job".[13][14] Following subsequent speculation, he "denied having any ulterior motive or a new job lined up".[15]
Electoral process
Nominations for the position of party leader opened at 10 a.m. on Thursday 21 March 2024 and closed at 1 p.m. on Sunday 24 March 2024,[16][17][18][19] having been "brought forward [...] by 24 hours" and with Simon Harris as the only candidate.[20]
While, after Varadkar's resignation, there had been initial media speculation about other potential candidates,[21][22][23] Harris was the only candidate to seek the nomination or receive endorsement.[19] He was deemed elected as leader on the close of nominations on Sunday 24 March 2024.[19]
Had there been other candidates, the party's constitution provided for voting based on an "electoral college" model, with voting by the Fine Gael parliamentary party (65% of votes), ordinary party members (25%) and Fine Gael local representatives (10%).[24][25]
^Pollak, Sorcha (21 March 2024). "Fine Gael leadership election: how it works and when we'll know the next taoiseach". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024. Votes will be weighted in accordance with the Fine Gael electoral college voting system rules, with the 54 members of the parliamentary party accounting for 65 per cent of the total vote, 20,000 party members accounting for 25 per cent, and 249 local representatives [..] accounting for the remaining 10 per cent
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