Further and Higher Education Minister announced his candidature on Thursday. Harris would replace the outgoing Leo Varadkar as Ireland's youngest ever PMSimon Harris is set for a clear run to become the Ireland's next Taoiseach after announcing he will stand to be the leader of the Fine Gael party following Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's resignation earlier this week.
A media-savvy and personable politician who is well-versed on social media sites and has already been dubbed the 'TikTok Taoiseach', he has been at the helm of three departments over an eight-year period. He added: 'I have been really overwhelmed and extremely grateful for support from Cabinet colleagues, ministers of state, TDs, MEPs, councillors and grassroots members right across Ireland.
With his youth and slick communication skills his opponents jibe that he is 'Leo 2.0', a continuation of a 'metropolitan' style of politics that is out of touch with the wider electorate. Paying tribute in a statement, Harris said: 'Leo has steered our party and our country through very challenging times including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the recent cost-of-living crisis.'As a young boy growing up in the seaside town of Greystones in Co Wicklow, Harris is said to have repeatedly stated he wanted to be taoiseach.
Later in the three-party coalition government, he became minister at the newly-formed Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.Harris is married to Caoimhe Wade, a cardiac nurse, and the pair share two children - daughter Saoirse, 5, and son Cillian, 2. Irish government minister Simon Harris could be set for a clear run at becoming the next taoiseach after a series of senior colleagues said they did not intend to run for the Fine Gael leadership
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys and Enterprise Minister and Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney have all said they will not seek a nomination for the leadership.