The departure of the Irish Prime Minister comes after the government suffered a double defeat in the referendum.
The Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced that he was leaving office, sending shock waves through Irish politics a few months before the European elections.
Irish media first reported a “political earthquake” just an hour before the midday press conference, following an early morning cabinet meeting.
For now, there is no expectation that there will be a general election.
The governing coalition which includes Mr Varadkar’s Fine Gael is expected to suffer a defeat by Sinn Fein, the nationalist party, in the next election.
Mr. Varadkar’s resignation comes less than two weeks after the surprise “no” to a double referendum which was to abolish obsolete constitutional provisions relating to the definition of the family and the role of women in society.
The surprise vote against the proposed changes was largely blamed on a flabby government campaign that led to apathy and low turnout.
Since the last Irish election, Mr Varadkar has served as Taoiseach twice, as part of a power-sharing coalition with Fianna Fáil, the country’s other long-established traditional party.
His tenure required him to respond to many major issues, including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and a far-right riot in Dublin.
A doctor by training, Mr Varadkar is Ireland’s first Taoiseach of mixed ethnicity and the first gay Prime Minister.
Our journalists are working on this article and will update it as new information becomes available.
