How old is Simon Harris? Age and more explored as further education minister set to become Ireland’s youngest prime minister

On March 24, Ireland's Fine Gael party confirmed that Simon Harris, the further education minister, will become Ireland's next Prime Minister, known as the Taoiseach.

Harris was the only candidate to put his name forward for the Fine Gael leadership, after his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, shocked the country with his surprise resignation on March 20, citing reasons "both personal and political" after two tenures as Taoiseach.

At 37, Simon Harris will be Ireland's youngest-ever Prime Minister, a record previously held by his predecessor, who became the prime minister at 38 in 2017.

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Simon Harris has been in the Fine Gael party since he was a teenager

Harris during his speech after being announced the leader of Fine Gael (Image via Getty Images)

Simon Harris spoke about his involvement in the Fine Gael party since he was 15 in his first speech after his confirmed leadership, saying:

"I have been in this party since I was 15 years old, and those values meant and mean everything to me."

As per his profile on the Fine Gael website, Simon Harris entered politics by establishing an autism support and lobby group in his home town of County Wicklow in Dublin, an endeavor fuelled by the lack of educational support his autistic brother experienced as a student.

He was elected to Wicklow County Council in 2009, with the highest percentage of votes of any councillor. Two years later, he became the youngest member of the parliament at age 25.

At 29, he was appointed Minister for Health by the then Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 2016, which saw him lead major health campaigns like the 2018 abortion referendum and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2020, Harris was appointed Minister for Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, a role he still held when he was announced as Leo Varadkar's successor.

As per Sky News, Harris currently resides in Greystone, County Wicklow, with his wife, Caoimhe Wade, and their two children, Saoirse and Cillian.

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"Absolute honour of my life": Simon Harris about his uncontested leadership

As per the BBC, Harris claimed that being offered the leadership of Fine Hael was "the absolute honour" of his life. He also paid tribute to his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, who spoke strongly about the party's support for Ukraine and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Addressing a party convention, he spoke about the various challenges faced by Ireland, claiming that "challenges never go away - they just change."

"But they can always be met if we cleave to those fundamental values which have served this nation well - hope, enterprise, equality of opportunity, integrity, security"

Harris also turned the tide against his competitor party, Sinn Féin, amid news of a general Irish election due by March 2025, by claiming that the party was apparently always "denying reality" to disparage Fine Gael's service to the public.

His leadership was welcomed by minister Simon Coveney, who called Harris "ideally placed" during the announcement, saying:

"Simon Harris is ideally placed to lead this party forward and everybody in this room should get 100% behind him."

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Simon Harris will formally be elected in the Irish parliament's lower house, locally known as the Dáil, after the Easter recess on April 9.