Rob Jetten, 38, eyes to become Netherlands' youngest, first openly gay PM: Who is he?
Rob Jetten grew up Uden town and both his parents were teachers. He had said in an interview that he wanted to make the world “a slightly better place”.
38-year-old Rob Jetten, head of the D66 centrist party, claimed a stunning election win in the Netherlands earlier this week and is all set to become the country’s youngest and first openly gay prime minister.
"I am incredibly happy... At the same time, I feel a great responsibility," Jetten told reporters after winning the elections.
"I think we've now shown to the rest of Europe and the world that it is possible to beat the populist movements if you campaign with a positive message for your country," he told news agency AFP after his big win.
Here’s how Rob Jetten clinched victory in Netherlands elections-
- The election was called for Jetten by Dutch news agency ANP over the far-right leader Geert Wilders. However, the final constituency results will arrive on upcoming Friday with overseas postal votes yet to be counted.
- Historically, expats have leaned towards left-wing or centrist parties. In the 2023 election, Jetten’s D66 bested Wilders’ PVV by around 3,000 postal votes, according to an AFP report.
- As Jetten claimed victory over Wilders in the neck-and-neck race, he said that the party wants to get to work as soon as possible. "We do not want to waste time unnecessarily because the Dutch people are asking us to get to work," he said.
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- However, Wilders said that it was “arrogant” of Jetten to claim the victory before the Electoral Council’s official confirmation. “It’s the Electoral Council that decides, not the ANP. What arrogance not to wait for that. But even if D66 becomes the largest party, the PVV will not let the Netherlands be destroyed by Jetten and his ilk, and from day one we will, with full force and 26 seats strong, oppose his left-liberal mismanagement!” he wrote in a post on X.
- Challenges lie ahead for Jetten to form a coalition government with like-minded parties to claim a majority with at least 76 seats in the 150-seat parliament of the Netherlands. Currently, Jetten’s D66 has 26 seats which can become 27 after all the votes are counted, reported AFP. “I think the voters have made clear with this election result that they want co-operation on the centre ground," said Jetten.
Who is Rob Jetten?
An athlete-turned-politician, Rob Jetten once ran as a pacemaker to Olympic champion Sifan Hassan. He began his stint at Netherlands’ parliament at the age of 30 before becoming the leader of the D66 a year later. He was the youngest ever politician to hold that post.
He grew up in a town called Uden and both his parents were teachers.
Jetten told Nijmegen’s Radboud University website, where he studied public administration, that he wanted to make the world “a slightly better place”. Among his “greatest passions” as a child and a teenager were football and athletics.
"But as I grew up and started discovering my identity, it was quite difficult not to identify with top-level gay athletes," AFP quoted him as saying. Jetten also wanted to enter the catering industry after his sports career, however, his life took a different turn.
Jetten is engaged to Argentina’s international hockey player, Nicolas Keenan, for around three years, with the couple planning to get married next year in Spain.
(With inputs from AFP)
