--- description: The country is set to hold a referedum on marriage equality in May title: Ireland: Health Minister Leo Varadkar Announces He's Gay image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8811db9f935f9d21/69877aa6a988cad7876abf7c/leo-varadkar-ireland-gay.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Irish Minister for Health Announces He's Gay by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 19, 2015 10:56 AM CUT  Irish Health minister Leo Varadkar, 36, who has publicly come out as gay, pictured here on Dec. 27, 2013. Irish Health minister Leo Varadkar, 36, who has publicly come out as gay, pictured here on Dec. 27, 2013.Brian Lawless—Press Association/AP by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 19, 2015 10:56 AM CUT Just months before Ireland is due to hold a referendum on marriage equality, the country’s minister for health has come out during a radio interview. Leo Varadkar [told RTÉ Radio 1](http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0118/673524-leo-varadkar/ "undefined"), an Irish radio station, that he was gay and would be campaigning in support of same-sex marriage in the lead up to the referendum in May. “It’s not a secret — but not something that everyone would necessarily know, but it isn’t something I’ve spoken publicly about before,” he said during the Jan. 18 interview. “I just kind of want to be honest with people. I don’t want anyone to think that I have a hidden agenda.” He added: “I’d like the referendum to pass because I’d like to be an equal citizen in my own country, the country in which I happen to be a member of Government, and at the moment I’m not.” Ireland decriminalized homosexuality 22 years ago and same-sex couples have been able to enter a civil partnership since 2011, but not marry. \[[_RTÉ_](http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0118/673524-leo-varadkar/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3673451/leo-varadkar-gay-ireland/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3673451/leo-varadkar-gay-ireland/"},"headline":"Irish Minister for Health Announces He's Gay","datePublished":"2015-01-19T10:56:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:41:04.600Z","description":"The country is set to hold a referedum on marriage equality in May","url":"https://time.com/3673451/leo-varadkar-gay-ireland/","keywords":["politics","Religion","World","faith","sexuality","Ireland"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8811db9f935f9d21/69877aa6a988cad7876abf7c/leo-varadkar-ireland-gay.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8811db9f935f9d21/69877aa6a988cad7876abf7c/leo-varadkar-ireland-gay.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Irish Health minister Leo Varadkar, 36, who has publicly come out as gay, pictured here on Dec. 27, 2013.","caption":"Irish Health minister Leo Varadkar, 36, who has publicly come out as gay, pictured here on Dec. 27, 2013.","creditText":"Brian Lawless—Press Association/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3673451/leo-varadkar-gay-ireland/","name":"Irish Minister for Health Announces He's Gay"}}]}] ```