Who Is Rob Jetten, Poised To Become Netherlands’ Youngest And First Openly Gay PM?

Last Updated:October 31, 2025, 19:56 IST

Rob Jetten of D66 is set to become the Netherlands' youngest and first openly gay prime minister, after D66's major election gains over Geert Wilders' PVV.

Rob Jetten has been in a relationship with Nicolas Keenan, an Argentine hockey player, since 2022. (X)

Dutch centrist party leader Rob Jetten is poised to be the youngest and first openly gay prime minister in the Netherlands’ history after his party, D66, registered major gains in the Netherlands’ general election.

Jetten’s D66 emerged neck-and-neck with the Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, whose support among voters sharply declined compared to last year’s record performance, according to news agency AFP.

With 98% of votes counted early October 30 (local time), both rival parties are projected to take 26 seats in the 150-member lower house of parliament. Exit polls and early counts had suggested a narrow win for the D66. However, updated tallies pointed to a slightly stronger showing for the PVV. Despite this, Wilders appears unlikely to become Prime Minister, as all mainstream parties have ruled out joining forces with him.

Jubilant D66 supporters cheered and waved Dutch flags at the party’s headquarters, chanting “Yes, we can," as Jetten declared victory, Al Jazeera reported.

The D66 party was untarnished by involvement in Wilders’ ill-fated 11-month coalition, largely because Jetten had fared so poorly in the last election in 2023. The government collapsed last June when Wilders’ party quit following a row over migration.

Who Is Rob Jetten?

Rob Jetten, 38, could become the first openly gay Dutch PM. The charismatic young leader has propelled his socially liberal D66 party from fifth place to the top in Dutch politics in less than two years.

A self-confessed politics nerd as a child, Jetten grew up in a small town of Uden in Brabant province in the southeast Netherlands, as per AFP.

He studied public administration at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Jetten revealed that as a young boy, he used to read two newspapers before heading to school and watch TV news in the evening. “A geek. That is really what I was at age 12," he admitted.

Jetten earned the nasty nickname of “Robot Jetten" early in his career due to his rehearsed lines and bookish glasses. He ditched the glasses after laser eye surgery, which boosted his appearances in the media.

Before stepping into politics, Jetten worked for the Dutch rail network ProRail as a consultant.

He was elected as an MP in 2017 at the young age of 30. A year later, Jetten became leader of the D66, the youngest ever to hold the post. With his political star on the rise, Jetten served as the Energy and Climate Minister between 2022 and 2024 under Dutch PM Mark Rutte.

Supporters see him as a kind of mini-Mark Rutte, who is now head of NATO.

Jetten has refrained from making his private life a part of his political identity. However, five years ago, he read a long list of homophobic messages from his phone to highlight the importance of international day against homophobia.

Jetten, who openly declared himself gay, is engaged to Argentine hockey player Nicolás Keenan, and the couple is due to marry next year in Spain.

(With inputs from agencies)

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