Mark Rutte

Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as prime minister of the Netherlands since 2010. He was also the leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 2006 through 2023. He is currently acting in a demissionary capacity, and will not return to politics following the installation of a new cabinet. After a business career working for Unilever, Rutte entered politics in 2002 as a member of Jan Peter Balkenende's cabinets. 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 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 a coalition between the VVD and the Labour Party (PvdA), which became the first cabinet to see out 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 a new coalition 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 won 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 his coalition failed to agree on how to handle increasing migration. His government will take on a caretaker role until the installation of the next cabinet after the elections in autumn 2023. Due to his ability to come out of political scandals with his reputation undamaged, Rutte has been referred to as "Teflon Mark".