Leo Varadkar, the Indian-origin prime minister of Ireland, has announced his resignation as the head of the ruling Fine Gael party.
Varadkar made the unexpected statement on Wednesday, stating that he would resign as prime minister as soon as a replacement was selected.
"I am resigning the presidency and leadership of Fine Gael and will resign as taoiseach [prime minister] as soon as my successor is able to take up that office," Varadkar told reporters in Dublin.
He claimed to have requested that the party select a new leader on April 6 to facilitate the election of a new prime minister following the Easter vacation of parliament.
The 45-year-old, Varadkar stated that it was time for him to step down from the position.
"My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political," he said, according to media reports.
"I have nothing else lined up I have nothing in mind. I have no definite personal or political plans," he said.
Varadkar became the youngest prime minister to take office in 2017 and the first gay person to lead the once-staunchly Catholic nation.
Under a rotation agreement reached by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the two biggest parties in a three-party coalition with the smaller Green Party, he took office again as premier in 2022.
In 2022, when Varadkar assumed office as Ireland's Prime Minister, his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated him.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, PM Modi had said that he values the historical ties, shared constitutional values and multi-faceted cooperation between India and Ireland.
(ANI)