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London (AP) — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country soon as a successor is chosen. world news
Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of Fine Gael party, part of Ireland’s coalition government. He’ll be replaced as prime minister after a party leadership contest.
He said his reasons were “both personal and political.”
Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach, or prime minister — between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022.
He was the country’s youngest-ever leader when first elected, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister. Varadkar, whose mother is Irish and father is Indian, was also Ireland’s first biracial taoiseach.
“I’m proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place,” he said in a resignation statement in Dublin.
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Notes from APS Radio News
reland is a place where support for the Palestinian cause runs deep, informed by what many regard as shared history — to make a strong case for bringing about a permanent ceasefire.
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Taoiseach or prime minister, voiced widely held Irish sympathies for Palestinians when he met with Biden in the Oval Office.
