The announcement
Prime Minister Rob Jetten and his partner, Argentine field hockey international Nicolás Keenan, announced on 19 October 2026 that they are expecting a baby through surrogacy. The couple posted an ultrasound image and a photograph with the surrogate on Instagram. According to the announcement, the child is due in spring 2027. D66, the party Jetten leads, issued a statement the same day with further details on how the pregnancy came about.
In his Instagram post, Jetten thanked the people who made the pregnancy possible:
There are no words big enough to thank our egg donor, our surrogate mum and both their families. None of this would be possible without you.
Keenan's post carried the same message of thanks to the egg donor, the surrogate and their families.
Who is involved
Both the egg donor and the surrogate are Dutch women who already have children of their own and are friends of the couple, D66 said. The party stressed that neither woman has a commercial motive and that both are taking part out of goodwill. The egg donor is not available for interviews, and Jetten has asked the media to respect the privacy of the women involved. The announcement thanked the families of both women as well.
How the rules apply
Surrogacy is permitted in the Netherlands when the correct steps are followed, but paying a surrogate is prohibited and commercial surrogacy is not allowed. Prospective parents may reimburse the surrogate's costs, and it has not been made public whether that happened in this case. D66 said the procedure was carried out fully in the Netherlands and meets all Dutch legal requirements, with the pregnancy made possible by IVF care offered in the country. The pregnancy is a high-technology one, meaning the surrogate is not genetically related to the child. The WODC estimates that between 30 and 50 children are born in the Netherlands each year with the help of a surrogate, although exact figures are not kept.
Jetten's office and family
Jetten has been prime minister since February 2026 and became the youngest premier in Dutch history when he took office, at 39. He is also the first openly gay person to hold the post. If the baby arrives while he is in office, he would be the first postwar Dutch prime minister to have a child during his term, according to de Volkskrant, since earlier premiers already had children when they took office. D66 said he will take a few days off around the birth and is not planning a longer period of parental leave. Keenan has made arrangements with his hockey club and the Argentina national team so he can combine elite hockey with fatherhood. The couple had planned to marry this summer but postponed the wedding shortly after Jetten became prime minister.
What comes next
The baby is due in spring 2027, and Jetten said both the surrogate and the child are doing well. He asked everyone to respect the privacy of the people involved, which he called the most important request at this stage. D66 published a question-and-answer page on its website to answer public questions about the pregnancy. Jetten said the news was released because he wanted to prevent it from leaking in an uncontrolled way.