The Netherlands’ first gay prime minister has been officially sworn into office, making LGBTQ+ history for the country and Europe. Rob Jetten is the first out LGBTQ+ person to hold this position in the Netherlands and at the age of 38 he also becomes the nation’s youngest ever PM. He was sworn in at the end of February by Dutch King Willem-Alexander.
According to Equaldex, LGBTQ+ rights in the Netherlands are mostly protected with codified protections against censorship and discrimination, and laws allowing for gender affirming care access, non-binary gender recognition, LGBTQ+ adoption and more. However, the country still maintains that gender changes can only occur with a medical diagnosis, and conversion therapy and infant intersex surgery are not banned.
Jetten represents the Democrats 66 party, which is a centrist party in the Netherlands. His campaign platform covered climate policy, affordable housing, and restoring trust in the government, according to LGBTQ Nation. He went up against far right opponent Geert Wilders, who campaigned on anti-Islamic sentiments among other policies. In response to his win, Jetten called the ability to get to work as prime minister an “enormous honor.”
Despite the win, the road ahead will not be easy as Jetten will have to negotiate with opposition lawmakers for support of all legislation put forth by his government. Jetten’s coalition party only makes up 66 of the Dutch Parliament’s 150 seats, according to AP News.
Jetten’s appointment to office has been embraced by Dutch LGBTQ+ organizations including COC. “The new premier can be a role model for people from the rainbow community,” the organization wrote in a statement. “It shows that your sexual orientation doesn’t have to matter. That you can become a construction worker, a doctor, a lawyer and even prime minister.”
Jetten has been engaged to Olympic hockey player Nico Keenan since November of 2024.
