Rob Jetten Becomes Youngest Dutch Prime Minister

Rob Jetten, a 38-year-old centrist, has been sworn in as the youngest prime minister of the Netherlands and the first openly gay.

Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October, coming from behind to dethrone the far-right Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders by a thin margin and succeeding Dick Schoof, whose government collapsed in 2025.

The election was called after the PVV withdrew from the previous coalition, which lasted just 11 months.

Jetten’s D66 has teamed up with the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) to form a coalition. Together, the three parties control just 66 of the 150 seats in parliament, meaning that the new prime minister will depend on opposition support from day one.

The parties took 117 days to form their coalition, far less than the 223 days it took to form the previous government.

His government is planning a major defence spending to reach the NATO spending target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product.

Jetten’s government will also press ahead with closely watched plans to slash back emissions from the Netherlands’ massive livestock industry.