The Netherlands witnessed history in the making on Monday when 38-year-old Rob Jetten was sworn in as the country’s youngest prime minister, the AP news agency reported.
Jetten was sworn in by Dutch King Willem-Alexander in the new minority Dutch coalition government. The youngest prime minister in history already has a task ahead of him, which is to use his bridge-building skills to pass legislation and see out a full four-year term. Next, he will have to push his agenda through the country’s first minority government in decades, Politico reported.
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Jetten succeeds Dick Schoof, whose government collapsed last year, prompting early elections in the country. His party narrowly won against the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders. His appointment comes as several countries see far-right parties win elections in countries such as Germany and France, and comes as a relief in Brussels as he pledges to lead the European Union’s fifth-largest economy.
Everything you need to know about Rob Jetten
In addition to being the country’s youngest ever prime minister, Jetten is also the country’s first openly gay Dutch leader, Politico reported.
According to a Euro News report, Jetten was once called “Robot Jetten” for his rigid way of answering questions. The youngest ever prime minister has previously served as climate minister under former prime minister Mark Rutte and this time he struck a chord with voters with his positive messages.
Jetten has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in public administration from Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, according to Jetten’s LinkedIn profile.
He started his political career in 2008 as a political officer in the D66 Senate. In the same year, he rose through the ranks of the party’s youth wing, the Young Democrats, and began serving, first as chairman of the Arnhem-Nijmegen branch and then as national chairman.
In 2010, Jetten became head of the parliamentary group for D66 in Nijmegen, a role he held for seven years. Between 2011 and 2014, he worked as a management trainee at Randstad. Between 2012 and 2016, he was a member of the advisory board of the Intercity Student Consultation (ISO). Between 2013 and 2014, he also worked as a strategic advisor. Jetten later joined ProRail, the Dutch rail infrastructure, where he served as regional manager for construction management in the north-eastern Netherlands from 2014 to 2017.
Later in 2017 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Netherlands and in 2018 he became the leader of the parliamentary group for D66. Jetten served in this capacity until 2022, while continuing as a Member of Parliament.
In 2022, Jetten was appointed Minister for Climate and Energy in the Ministry of Economy and Climate Policy. In his two-year term, which ends in 2024, Jetten was responsible for advancing the country’s climate transition and national energy strategy.
He also served as leader of the D66 party from August 2023. Four months later, he returned to his role as leader of the parliamentary group and member of the House of Representatives.
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Jetten faces the challenges ahead
In the current government, he heads a three-member administration that includes his D66, the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy. Together, these three parties hold only 66 of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament. This means constant negotiations with opposition lawmakers to pass any legislation in the House.
He won the election in October 2025 and his government was sworn in 117 days after the election. The final election results were decided after postal ballots were counted following the country’s fourth national election since 2017. Jetten plans to continue spending to strengthen the Dutch military at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.
