Ireland has a new taoiseach (prime minister) – Leo Varadkar – as he and Micheál Martin swap roles.
Eighty-seven TDs in the Dáil (Irish Parliament) voted to elect Mr Varadkar, while 62 were against his nomination.
Mr Varadkar takes over from Mr Martin as government leader, while Mr Martin takes on his role as tánaiste (deputy prime minister).
Mr Martin will also be minister for foreign affairs as Simon Coveney moves to the Department of Enterprise.
The rotation of power between the Irish parties was laid down in the coalition agreement of June 2020.
The deal brought together Mr Varadkar’s Fine Gael party, Mr Martin’s Fianna Fáil and the Green Party in a historic compromise.
Mr Varadkar, a qualified medical doctor, previously served as taoiseach and minister of defence from 2017 to 2020.
The handover is a first for the Republic of Ireland’s political system and takes place between two parties which dominated Irish politics as bitter rivals for almost a century.
