Speaking My Mind

Description

Leo Varadkar shares his fascinating experience as Irish prime minister at
a time of much change and turbulence, in this remarkably honest
memoir.

Leo Varadkar was an unlikely Taoiseach – the youngest on taking office in
2017, the first Taoiseach to be gay, and the first person of colour to be
Taoiseach.

Equally unlikely was his decision to bow out of politics in his mid-forties. Now,
liberated from the constraints of office, he tells his fascinating story with
characteristic courage and candour, and provides a unique insight into the
formation and evolution of a senior politician.

In Speaking My Mind Leo Varadkar shares his pride in helping to bring about
transformational changes, such as marriage equality. He describes experiences
that only a prime minister could have – speaking frankly to Pope Francis on the
legacy of church abuses, connecting with Barack Obama about both being the
‘tall, dark guy with the funny name’, navigating challenges such as the
pandemic and the fallout from Brexit.
And he writes honestly about the costs
that go with the immense privilege of holding high office.

Speaking My Mind is a revealing, intimate and important memoir from a singular
public figure.

About the Author

Leo Varadkar grew up in Dublin, the son of an Irish mother and an Indian father.
He studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin, but practised as a doctor for just
a short time before becoming a full-time politician after election to Dáil Éireann
(the Irish parliament) in 2007.

He became a cabinet minister in 2011 and in
2017, at the age of 38, he became Taoiseach. Leo Varadkar served as
Taoiseach until 2020 and again from late 2022 until his resignation in April 2024.
He lives with his partner in Dublin.