Leo Varadkar: Former Prime Minister of Ireland on Power and Letting Go

Before becoming Ireland’s youngest Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar was a Dublin GP with bold ambitions and a belief that politics could be a kind of medicine for society. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the former Prime Minister to explore his extraordinary rise from a mixed-heritage childhood in 1980s Ireland, to leading his country through Brexit battles, historic referendums and the turbulence of the pandemic. They discuss the unlikely path that took him from medical practice to the world stage, the emotional costs of leadership, and why he chose to step away at just 45 years old. Frank, reflective and often surprising, this is a conversation about resilience, identity, and what it really means to hold power in a changing Ireland Find out more about Leo Varadkar’s memoir Speaking My Mind here