From Ireland to Serbia, 4 countries that have gay politicians in power

 

There's no denying that LGBTQ community has to struggle extra hard to succeed in life. Be it due to the stigmas or the discriminatory laws, the society has always isolated them. However, there are some politicians in power who have inspired the LGBTQ community to never give up. Who are these politicians? Well, these politicians are those who are a part of the community and currently in power.

If you think it's because of the century that we live in that has made it possible for gay politicians to break all social barriers, you're wrong. In late 1970's, Harvey Milk became the first gay person to be elected to the public office in California.

Here are four politicians, who are gay and in power currently, inspiring hundreds of LGBTQ people every day.

Xavier Bettel in Luxembourg

Xavier Bettel is the first openly gay Prime Minister of Luxembourg, who took over the office in 2011. The 44-year-old politician is the third openly gay head of government following Iceland's Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir (2009-2013) and Belgium's Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo (2011-2014).
His sexuality really never hampered his political career. In fact, Bettel has said numerous times that in Luxembourg people do not care whether someone is gay or not.

Ana Brnabic in Serbia

Serbia recently created history when it elected its first female Prime Minster. And there's more: she is also openly gay. Ana Brnabic was elected as the Serbian PM recently, which was lauded as a very progressive move as homophobia is still widespread in the Balkans. Apart from holding the top most post in the government, she is also the President of the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technologies of the Government of Serbia.

Leo Varadkar in Ireland

Leo Varadkar is not only the youngest person to hold office as the Prime Minister of Ireland, but also openly gay. Varadkar is of Indian origin--born to an Indian immigrant. He assumed office in June 2017, becoming the world's fourth openly gay head of government.

After coming out in 2015, he had said that being gay isn't something that defined him. "I'm not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It's just part of who I am, it doesn't define me, it is part of my character I suppose," he had told the RTE Radio.

Ed Murray in Seattle, USA

Edward Bernard Patrick Murray a.k.a Ed Murray is currently serving as the 53rd mayor of Seattle. He came out long back in the 80s and has never let his sexual orientation define his career. In fact, he has often described himself as "a Democrat who happens to be gay."