‘TikTok Taoiseach’: Simon Harris set to be Ireland’s youngest prime minister

The 37-year-old beats the previous record holder, predecessor Leo Varadkar, who was 38 when he took the top job in 2017

With 1.4 million likes on TikTok, and hundreds of thousands of followers on both X and Instagram, he posts content almost daily to his audience

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Irish Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris speaks to the media during a press conference in Ireland. Harris entered politics by campaigning for autism services for his autistic younger brother, later founding a charity. He joined the youth branch of Fine Gael at the age of 16 and quickly rose through the party ranks. Photo: AP

Published: 7:47pm, 22 Mar 2024Updated: 7:48pm, 22 Mar 2024

Simon Harris, set to become Ireland’s youngest ever taoiseach (prime minister), will hope his social media skills and fresh face can save his party’s flagging fortunes as elections loom.

Already dubbed by media the “TikTok Taoiseach” (pronounced “Tee-shock”) the 37-year-old beats the previous record holder, predecessor Leo Varadkar, who was 38 when he took the top job in 2017.

After Varadkar’s shock resignation on Wednesday, Harris leapt from the blocks in the race for leader of the centre-right Fine Gael party and by default prime minister.

By Thursday lunchtime, he had secured endorsements by a majority of party colleagues, prompting rivals to rule themselves out – and effectively ending the leadership contest before it had even begun.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaks to the media at Government Buildings in Dublin. Photo: dpa

With no other candidates expected to emerge before nominations close Monday, pundits described Harris’s apparent uncontested procession to the leadership as a ‘coronation’.