Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten (; born 25 March 1987) is a Dutch politician of

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a Social liberalism, social liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the Centrism, centre of the Left–right political spectrum, p ...

(D66). He served as the party's

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Early life and education

Jetten grew up in

Uden Uden () is a town and former municipality in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Maashorst. History Uden was first recorded around 1190 as "Uthen". However, earlier settlements h ...

Noord-Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the ...

and attended his secondary education at Udens College between 1999 and 2005. He then studied at the

Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...

, where he obtained a BA in 2010 and an MA degree in 2011, both in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

. After a period as a management trainee at the Dutch railway authority

ProRail ProRail () is a Dutch government organisation responsible for the maintenance and extension of the national railway network infrastructure (not the metro or tram), the allocation of rail capacity, and controlling rail traffic. Prorail is a part o ...

, he continued working there as a consultant and as a regional supply manager for the north-eastern Netherlands.

Political career

Jetten began his political career as a policy advisor for the D66 faction in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Genera ...

and as the chairman of the Young Democrats. In addition, between 2010 and 2017, he was a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

. In the

2017 Dutch general election General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 15 March 2017 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. The incumbent government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the first to serve a full term since 2002. The previo ...

, he was elected as a member of the

. Jetten then became his party's spokesperson for climate, energy and gas, railways, democratic renewal and economic affairs. On 9 October 2018, Jetten was chosen as the new parliamentary leader of D66 in the House of Representatives, succeeding

Alexander Pechtold Alexander Pechtold (born 16 December 1965) is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66. Pechtold studied Archaeology and Dutch Golden Age painting, History of Dutch Art at the Leiden University obtaining a Ma ...

. This did not automatically make him the new

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

as the new leader eventually was to be chosen in the 2020 Democrats 66 leadership election. Aged 31, Jetten became the youngest ever parliamentary leader of D66. After his election, Jetten faced criticism in Dutch media because of his relative young age. Under his leadership, the Dutch government announced plans in 2022 to invest 750 million euros ($789 million) through to 2031 to have the country's gas network operator

Gasunie N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (short form: Gasunie) is a Dutch natural gas infrastructure and transportation company operating in the Netherlands and Germany. Gasunie owns the Netherlands gas transmission network with a total length of over and long ...

develop a national hydrogen transportation network.

Personal life

Jetten lives in

Ubbergen Ubbergen () is village and former municipality in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. The village is part of the municipality of Berg en Dal (formerly known as Groesbeek). Notable people Notable people who were born in Ubberge ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

References

External links

Official *
Drs. R.A.A. (Rob) Jetten
Parlement.com *
Jetten R.A.A. (D66)
Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Jetten, Rob 1987 births Living people 21st-century Dutch politicians Democrats 66 politicians Dutch people of Indonesian descent Dutch political consultants Dutch speechwriters Gay politicians LGBT cabinet members of the Netherlands LGBT members of the Parliament of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers without portfolio of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Nijmegen People from Veghel Radboud University Nijmegen alumni 20th-century Dutch people