At the end of September, Jetten was a guest at Radboud University. In an interview, he talks about his student days, his fondest memories and how his Public Administration studies have benefited him. Jetten: “The helicopter view you learn here, looking at problems from all kinds of different angles and searching for solutions, has been very valuable to me.”
Alumnus Rob Jetten new Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Rob Jetten, the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands, studied Public Administration at Radboud University between 2005 and 2011. He is not the first Radboud alumnus to become Prime Minister.
Rob Jetten's career
Rob Jetten (Veghel, 1987) has been chair of the D66 parliamentary party in the House of Representatives since November 2023. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since March 2017, apart from the period when he was Minister for Climate and Energy in the Rutte IV cabinet. Previously, Jetten was a municipal councillor (party leader) in Nijmegen and chair of the Young Democrats. He worked at ProRail as regional construction management manager in the north-east of the Netherlands. From July 2012 to April 2016, he was a member of the Advisory Board of ISO (Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg, Intercity Student Consultation).
Previous Radboud prime ministers
Previous Radboud alumni who became prime ministers include Dick Schoof, Dries van Agt, Jo Cals, Victor Marijnen, and Louis Beel. Alumnus Moises Frumencio da Costa Gomez is often regarded as the first prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles.
Other Radboud ministers
Rob Jetten is not the only Radboud alumnus in the new cabinet. Jaimi van Essen, prospective Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, graduated in 2015 with a degree in political science from Radboud University. Silvio Erkens, prospective State Secretary at the same department, followed the same programme and graduated in 2012.
Stientje van Veldhoven, prospective Minister of Climate and Green Growth, studied French at Radboud University in 1991-1992, but did not graduate here.
Contact information
- Organizational unit
- Public Administration