Leo Varadkar

Leo Varadkar (born 18 January 1979) is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and the Minister for Health since 2014. A Young Fine Gael veteran and Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency since June 2007, he is a former vice-president of the Youth of the European People's Party and an alumnus of the Washington Ireland Program. He is a qualified medical doctor and the first openly gay Irish government minister.

Early life

Varadkar was born in Dublin, the son of an Indian father (a retired GP in Blanchardstown) and a mother from County Waterford. He studied at King's Hospital School, Palmerstown and Trinity College, where he earned a medical degree and joined Young Fine Gael.

Personal life

During an interview on RTÉ on 18 January 2015 (his 36th birthday), Varadkar spoke publicly for the first time about being gay: "it’s not something that defines me. I'm not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It’s just part of who I am, it doesn’t define me, it is part of my character I suppose". He is the first openly gay cabinet member in Ireland. Varadkar was a prominent advocate of the same-sex marriage referendum.