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A self-proclaimed political enthusiast since childhood, the young Jetten grew up in a small town in the southern province of Brabant and came out openly from a young age.
Rob Jetten's rise in the rankings of his party "D66" from fifth place to the top of Dutch politics in less than two years has been extraordinary.
But politically, all the stars were perfectly aligned for the 38-year-old to do so.
The result of Wednesday's election is very close, with Jette competing with anti-Islamic populist Geert Wilders for the majority of seats in parliament.
No other political leader had as much screen time during the campaign as Jetten, and his smile and cheerful message resonated with voters, while his rivals sometimes struggled.
When Wilders canceled an appearance due to security fears, Rob Jetten seized the opportunity to take his place. He even appeared on a TV quiz show recorded months earlier called "The Smartest Person."
And his D66 party was not tarnished by involvement in Wilders' ill-fated 11-month coalition, largely because Jetten had fared so badly in the last election in 2023. The government collapsed last June when Wilders' party resigned after a debate over migration.
Perhaps more than anything else, he was able to convey a positive message summed up by the slogan Het kan wel, an optimistic phrase borrowed from Barack Obama, "Yes, we can."
This clashed with Wilders, whom he accused of "sowing division."
If his party comes out on top, Rob Jetten could become the first openly gay prime minister of the Netherlands.
A self-proclaimed political enthusiast since childhood, the young Jetten grew up in a small town in the southern province of Brabant and came out openly from a young age.
Jetten has not made his private life part of his political identity, but 5 years ago he posted a video in which he read a long list of homophobic messages from his phone, to prove why an international day against homophobia was important.
Jetten is now engaged to Argentine hockey player Nicolás Keenan, and they will be married next year.
Jetten ran a highly refined campaign and outperformed his rivals in televised debates.
He was an early supporter of the centrist D66, which describes itself as a progressive and socially liberal party, and officials quickly noticed his potential.
After several years working for the Dutch rail network ProRail, Jetten was elected as an MP in 2017 and had some early experience as a leader before serving as climate minister under long-serving Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
But not everything has gone well in Jetten's career.
A parliamentary colleague complained that he was “imposing” on the climate, and his grand ambitions as a minister were cut short when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine caused energy prices to rise sharply.
He led D66's disastrous campaign in 2023, when the party came out with just 9 seats, two years after his predecessor Sigrid Kaag came in second place behind Rutte.
Jetten was not yet that fluent in front of the camera. Some of his media appearances were criticized as boring, and one critic called him "Robot Jetten".
“The Jetten robot will become prime minister!” a journalist told him in disbelief, as his success became clear on Wednesday evening, adding “sometimes in politics it can turn out very crazy,” Jetten replied with a broad smile.
Supporters see him as a kind of mini-Mark Rutte, who is now the head of NATO.
And this comparison will suit Jetten very well, as many Dutch people now fondly remember the stability of the Rutte years, after two years of relative turmoil.
Both men always seem cheerful and pragmatic, and both are known for getting by on precious little sleep.
However, party colleague Roy Kramer noticed a difference: "Rutte is a talker, Jetten is a bit quieter," he told the Dutch newspaper Het Parool.
The liberal leader has big ambitions, and few challenges are more urgent than tackling the housing crisis in the Netherlands, with a shortage of around 400,000 homes.
Jetten wants to build 10 cities and complains that Dutch governments have not achieved anything impressive over the past 10 to 15 years. He is making big promises and will be under pressure to deliver on them.
For Jetten to succeed, he will need a bit of Rutte's political Teflon coating, which helped him get through four governments.
He has already survived an embarrassing moment during the campaign, when a joke about Crown Princess Amalia didn't work in front of 2,000 students in Rotterdam.
"I think the best way to promote working in the military is to be able to end up training with the Crown Princess. I bet some guys in this audience would be interested in that," he said.
The debate moderator retorted by saying: "What kind of sexist remark is that?"
Jetten later admitted it was inappropriate, but it appears to have done him no harm. /Adapted from BBC/
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