Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Monday swore in a new minority coalition government led by the youngest prime minister in the history of the Netherlands.
Rob Jetten, 38, will lead a three-party administration, made up of his centrist D66 party, the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
Together, these parties hold only 66 of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament, so Jetten will have to negotiate with opposition MPs to secure support for any laws his government wants to pass.
Jetten and his team of ministers were sworn in by the king in the grand Orange Hall of the royal palace, in a forest on the outskirts of The Hague. The king wished the new government luck “in uncertain times.”
A small group of protesters from the environmental organization Extinction Rebellion protested outside the palace gates during the ceremony and blared sirens as the new ministers took their official photograph.
In a message on the X platform, Jetten said it was “an incredible honor to begin work as prime minister.”
The government was sworn in 117 days after national elections, which Jetten’s party narrowly won over the Party for Freedom led by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. The final result was only decided after the postal vote was counted, following the fourth national election since 2017 in the politically fragmented Netherlands.
The new government took office the day before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Jetten has pledged to continue his country’s strong support for Kiev in confronting the forces of Russian President Vladimir Putin.