Leo Varadkar is likely to be Ireland’s first openly gay Prime Minister after Enda Kenny’s resignation

Leo Varadkar is the favourite to be Ireland's new Prime Minister and the country's first openly gay leader. Picture: Supplied

IRELAND could be set for its first openly gay prime minister after Leo Varadkar was installed as the clear frontrunner to replace Enda Kenny.

The veteran politician stood down from the helm of Fine Gael at an emotionally charged meeting of party colleagues in Leinster House in Dublin after delaying the announcement for several months.

Leo Varadkar is Ireland’s first openly gay member of Cabinet. Picture: Supplied

Mr Kenny led the party for 15 years and has been at the head of two governments for more than six years.
Nominations for the contest to replace him close on Saturday with the successor due to be elected by June 2 and Ireland’s Dail parliament due to vote in the new leader as Taoiseach (or head of government) in the following days.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny resigned as leader of the Fine Gael party, paving the way for his replacement as the country's head of government. Picture: AP

Kenny, Fine Gael’s longest-serving Taoiseach, made his announcement at a brief parliamentary party meeting where some supporters were said to have been visibly upset at his long-awaited plans for departure.
Dr Varadkar, a doctor from Dublin and the favourite for the job, is Ireland’s first openly gay member of cabinet.

Leo Varadkar could be Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister. Picture: Supplied

Dr Varadkar, whose father is Indian has said being gay does not define him.
“I’m not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It’s just part of who I am, it doesn’t define me, it is part of my character I suppose,” he said.
In recent weeks, his campaign to clamp down on welfare cheats has been fiercely criticised in some quarters, including by a former social welfare inspector, and opponents who questioned the level of fraud in the system.