Story highlights Varadkar will be Ireland's youngest prime minister

The Irish-Indian will succeed Enda Kenny, who has led Fine Gael for 15 years

(CNN) Ireland is to get its youngest prime minister, and the first who is openly gay.

Leo Varadkar, the 38-year-old Minister for Social Protection, was elected leader of the ruling Fine Gael party on Friday. He will be confirmed as Taoiseach, or prime minister, when the Irish parliament reconvenes on June 13.

Varadkar's sole opponent, Housing Minister Simon Coveney, whose roots in the party run deep, won the backing of nearly two-thirds of the party's regular members.

But in the system for electing Fine Gael's leader, their votes only made up 25% of the total. Varadkar was backed by a majority of the Fine Gael's local council members and, crucially, 51 of its 73 parliamentary colleagues, whose votes counted for 65% of the total.

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