The son of an Indian immigrant who came out as gay in 2015 will be the next Irish prime minister, after he was voted leader of the country’s main governing party.
Mr Leo Varadkar beat his rival, Housing Minister Simon Coveney, with 60% of the votes. He will become Ireland's first gay taoiseach (prime minister).
He is expected to take over from former Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, in the next few weeks.
At 38, he will also be Ireland's youngest ever prime minister.
Following the announcement on Friday evening, Mr Varadkar said he was "honoured" to accept the "enormous challenge" ahead of him with humility.
.@finegael Just cast my vote in #FGLE17 pic.twitter.com/3oDvm6heMT
— Leo Varadkar (@campaignforleo) June 2, 2017
"If my election shows anything it's that prejudice has no hold in this Republic," he said.
"When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed his son would grow up to be its leader." He said Simon Coveney had gained his and the party's admiration for his "principled and spirited" campaign and he looked forward to working with him to bring Fine Gael and Ireland forward.
"Let that be our mission, to build a Republic of opportunity," he said.
Mr Varadkar, who came out as gay in the run up to the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum, has been in charge of the welfare system.
As well as becoming Ireland’s first gay prime minister, Varadkar, 38, will also become the country’s youngest leader, and the first from an ethnic minority background. His position will be confirmed later this month when parliament resumes after a break.
