Netherlands' First Gay Prime Minister to Become a Father via Surrogacy Next Year

Rob Jetten, the first openly LGBTQ+ prime minister of the Netherlands, is set to welcome a child next year through a surrogate, AFP reported on October 19, local time.

Prime Minister Jetten posted a photo on Instagram showing him holding a fetal ultrasound image alongside his fiancé, Nicolas Keenan, writing that someone very special is on the way and adding, "See you in 2027."

He went on to say that words cannot express his gratitude to the egg donor, the surrogate Lisa, and their families, adding that none of this would have been possible without them.

Prime Minister Jetten got engaged to Keenan, an Argentine field hockey player, in 2024.

After the centrist D66 party, which he leads, won last year's general election, he became the youngest prime minister in Dutch history and the first to identify as LGBTQ+ in February of this year.

The D66 party explained that both the surrogate and the egg donor are Dutch nationals known to the couple, emphasizing that it is not a commercial surrogacy arrangement.

The Netherlands permits altruistic surrogacy where no financial compensation is exchanged.

In Germany, which strictly regulates surrogacy, Jens Spahn, the parliamentary floor leader of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), revealed in July that he had children via a surrogate, leading to controversy and his eventual resignation.

Spahn, who married his same-sex partner Daniel Funke in 2017, had children through surrogacy in the United States.

While raising children born via surrogacy abroad is legally permitted in Germany, controversy arose because the center-right CDU officially opposes surrogacy, and Spahn had previously blocked the legalization of surrogacy during his tenure as health minister.

(Photo: Rob Jetten's Instagram, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.