Mark Rutte

Mark Rutte (Dutch: [ˈmɑr(ə)k ˈrʏtə] ; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2024 and leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 2006 to 2023. Serving a total of almost 14 years, Rutte is the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history.

After originally embarking on a business management career working for Unilever, Rutte entered national politics in 2002 as a member of Jan Peter Balkenende's cabinet. Rutte won the 2006 VVD leadership election and led the party to victory in the 2010 general election. After lengthy coalition negotiations, he became prime minister of the Netherlands. He was the first self-described liberal to be appointed prime minister in 92 years.

An impasse on budget negotiations led to his government's early collapse in April 2012, but the VVD's victory in the subsequent election allowed Rutte to return as prime minister to lead his second cabinet between the VVD and the Labour Party (PvdA), which became the first cabinet to complete a full four-year term since 1998. Though the VVD lost seats in the 2017 general election, it remained the largest party. After a record-length formation period, Rutte was appointed to lead his third cabinet between the VVD, Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Union (CU).

Though Rutte and his cabinet resigned in response to the Dutch childcare benefits scandal, the VVD would go on to win the 2021 general election. Rutte began his fourth term in 2022 after another record-length formation period. On 7 July 2023, he announced his government's resignation after the cabinet failed to agree on how to handle migration. Rutte IV would continue on as an outgoing cabinet, fulfilling a caretaker function and keeping the nation running until the Schoof cabinet was sworn in on 2 July 2024.

For his ability to remain in office despite various political scandals, Rutte had been referred to as "Teflon Mark" as "nothing ever seemed to stick to him". He has also been described by the Foreign Policy columnist Caroline de Gruyter as ideologically flexible and pragmatic, willing to accommodate a broad range of political factions in order to address issues, while the Guardian correspondent Jon Henley sees in him a "managerial rather than a visionary leader".