From starting as a TD at 25 ... to youngest ever Taoiseach
IT has been said for years that it was a case of when Simon Harris became Fine Gael chief rather than if.
What was expected to be a race to replace Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will now be a coronation as all other senior ministers in the party ruled themselves out and gave their full backing to the Wicklow TD.
From Wednesday lunchtime, mere minutes after Varadkar announced he was stepping down, it was clear the race was Harris’s to lose.
Once the youngest deputy in the Dail, he will now become the youngest ever Taoiseach on April 9 at the age of 37.
Born in Greystones in 1986, Harris is the eldest of three siblings.
His brother Adam is the founder and CEO of autism charity ASIAM.
It was within the realm of autism that Simon got his first taste of politics. He set up the Wicklow Triple A Alliance at the age of 15 to help families of children with autism and ADHD. He was awarded a Greystones Person of the Year Award in 2022 for his efforts.
A year-long stint studying journalism and French in
DIT was followed by the start of his real political career.
In 2008 he began working as an assistant to future Cabinet colleague Frances Fitzgerald when she was a Senator.
In 2009, Harris was elected to
Wicklow County Council and simultaneously elected to Greystones Town Council.
In 2011, he was voted in as TD for Wicklow. The youngest deputy in the 31st Dail at 25, he nominated Enda Kenny for Taoiseach.
The competent media performer then became Minister of State in the Department of Finance in 2014. As part of his meteoric rise, he was appointed Minister for Health in 2016.
He was at the helm in 2018 when it emerged that over
200 women had developed cervical cancer after they received incorrect smear results.
While his handling of the scandal was criticised, he was praised for ordering an immediate probe.
Harris also survived a motion of no confidence in 2019 over the spiralling costs of the National Children’s Hospital.
Many say he made a name for himself with a younger audience during Covid by embracing social media.
He often shares pictures of Saoirse, five, and Cillian, three, the children he shares with Caoimhe, whom he married in 2017.
He’ll be hoping he can keep young and old on side if he has any chance of leading the next Government.