Simon Harris becomes Ireland’s youngest prime minister
WorldSimon Harris has been nominated as taoiseach (prime minister) by the Irish parliament, to be officially installed in the role this afternoon by the Irish president, BBC reports.
Aged 37, he is the country's youngest ever leader. His appointment follows Leo Varadkar's official resignation on Monday. After a vote in the Irish parliament, he travelled to meet president Michael D Higgins to be officially installed, the report adds.
Harris's nomination for taoiseach was backed by 88 votes to 69. He takes over from Fine Gael colleague Leo Varadkar who announced his resignation unexpectedly in March.