Leo Varadkar became the fourth gay head of government in the world
In 2017 Leo Varadkar became the Taoiseach of Ireland when he was elected leader of his political party Fine Gael, making him Ireland’s first same-sex attracted leader, and the fourth gay head of state in the world.
The first gay head of government was Iceland’s Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir who took office in 2009. Following her Belguim’s Elio Di Rupo made history in 2011, and Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel became the leader of his country in 2013.
As Taoiseach, Ireland’s name for their Prime Minister, Varadkar enjoyed incredibly high popularity in opinion polls and was expected to be returned at the 2020 election. However his party ended up coming third and he resigned as the country’s leader.
The new Irish government ended up being a three-way coalition between Fine Gael, rivals Fianna Fáil and the Green party. In the new government Varadkar was appointed minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
However, he returned to being the Taoiseach in December 2022. In 2023 he attended the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, making him the serving first Taoiseach to attend a coronation of British monarch.
In April 2024 he resigned from the leadership position saying he was no longer the best man for the job, for both personal and political reasons.
Since Varadkar’s time as Taoiseach therehave been more LGBTIQA+ heads of government including Serbia’s current Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Andora’s Xavier Espot Zamora and French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
