Thirty-eight-year-old Rob Yeten suddenly became the center of attention after the party Democrats 66 (D66) he leads unexpectedly won the early parliamentary elections in the Netherlands held yesterday.
According to the exit poll, his party will have 27 deputies in the new 150-seat parliament of the country, and for the first time in its history it will be the first political force. The official results of the elections will be announced on November 7.
The NOS television reminds that we must wait for the official results, but Rob Yeten is already being talked about in the Netherlands as the future prime minister of the country. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen: not only to see the final results, but also because forming a coalition government in the Netherlands traditionally takes a long time.
“We have just witnessed something truly special. One thing is certain: millions of Dutch people have turned the page. They have said goodbye to the politics of “cannot be done”. They have chosen the positive forces and the politics with which we look forward,” said Rob Yetten after the exit poll was released. According to him, in the coming period, “political leadership from all the positive forces in the political center will be needed to seek cooperation.” According to him, a stable and ambitious cabinet must be formed in the near future. “And we will deal with that!“, were his words.
Rob Yetten has led D66 since August 2023. He was Minister of Climate and Energy Policy from 2022 to 2024 (in the fourth “Rutte“ cabinet) and Deputy Prime Minister from January 2024 to July 2024.
He was born on March 25, 1987 in Vechel, North Brabant. He studied at Radboud University from 2005 to 2011, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree - both in public administration.
He began his political career as a political advisor to the D66 faction in the Senate, becoming chairman of the Young Democrats, the youth organization of D66. He later became chairman of the D66 faction in Nijmegen. "I feel at home in this party. D66 has shown that it can make decisions in difficult times and show determination," he says.
From 2010 to 2017, he was a member of the municipal council of Nijmegen. In the 2017 elections, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives. He also became his party's spokesperson on climate, energy and gas, rail transport, democratic renewal and economic issues.
On 9 October 2018, Yeten was elected parliamentary leader of D66 in the House of Representatives: at 31 years old, he is the youngest parliamentary leader of D66 in the party's history.
Rob Yeten ran a very skillful election campaign. According to analysts, thanks to him, D66 added 18 seats to the 9 it had in the previous parliament. Personally, he enjoyed increasing popularity during the campaign: young, energetic, communicative.
“In the coming years, we must invest further in education and the rapid integration of refugees“, says his business card on the website of the House of Representatives. “We can stimulate green economic growth by better supporting innovative entrepreneurs. And we must dare to take a leading role in smart mobility solutions for large cities and regions in decline, so that opportunities are available to everyone, in the literal and figurative sense“.
Rob Yetten does not hide his relationship with Argentine field hockey player Nicolas Keenan.