Simon Harris

Simon Harris (born October 17, 1986, Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland) is an Irish politician who, on April 9, 2024, became the youngest taoiseach (prime minister) in the country’s history. Harris is also the leader of Ireland’s Fine Gael party. He previously served as a legislator and as the country’s health minister.

Harris was born in the coastal town of Greystones, County Wicklow. His father drove a taxi, and his mother was a special needs assistant at a school. His parents were not politically involved, though one of his great-uncles held a position in local government. Harris became engaged in politics at least as early as age 15, when he started canvassing for a local lawmaker. He soon began organizing community meetings. He joined Fine Gael when he was 16.

Harris studied journalism and French at the Dublin Institute of Technology, but he quit before graduating to start his career in politics. His first job was working for a legislator, Frances Fitzgerald, when she was the leader of the Fine Gael party in the Seanad Éireann (Senate), the upper chamber of the Irish legislature. Harris gained a seat on the Wicklow County Council in 2009.

Two years later he was elected to the Dáil, Ireland’s lower legislative chamber, where he was the youngest member (at age 24). He rose quickly within the party and became the minister of state at the Department of Finance in 2014. He obtained his first cabinet role in 2016, when he became the health minister in the government of Taioseach Enda Kenny. Harris and his longtime girlfriend, Caoimhe Wade, were married the following year. The couple now have two children.

Harris has long made disability rights a major political priority. His brother, Adam, was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at an early age and later went on to establish an advocacy organization for people with autism, called AsIAm.

As health minister, Harris was criticized in 2018 amid a scandal involving tests for cervical cancer. More than 200 women were told their test results were normal only to learn later that there had been mistakes that were covered up by the state. A health care official attacked Harris’s handling of the controversy, but Harris was praised by Vicky Phelan, a victim of the scandal who worked to raise awareness of it. During his tenure, Ireland’s health care system struggled with long waiting lists, crowded hospitals, and cost overruns. A Fianna Fáil legislator said at the time that Harris was “clearly overwhelmed.” Harris narrowly survived a confidence vote in 2019; had the vote succeeded, it would have toppled the government of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Harris remained in the cabinet, but he lost the health care portfolio in 2020 and was named Ireland’s higher education minister. In that role, he promoted apprenticeships in construction and other trades. Politico noted that the position also gave him a platform for self-promotion—as he traveled from campus to campus, “microblogging and selfie-shooting across the nation, building an image as a lawmaker more connected to the concerns of teens and 20-somethings struggling to start families and secure homes.” He was especially active on TikTok, where he developed a sizable following.

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In March 2024 Varadkar, who had been Ireland’s prime minister since 2017, resigned unexpectedly as the leader of Fine Gael. Harris immediately announced that he would run for the position of party leader. He launched what one pundit called a “blitzkrieg” campaign, securing enough endorsements within 24 hours to ensure that no one would oppose him. “He’s hungry for it,” one fellow party member told the Financial Times. “He’s been planning this for years.” In late March, Harris secured the post without a challenger, and the media was quick to dub him “the TikTok taoiseach.” He officially became prime minister in April.