Mark Rutte (born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician. He has been Prime Minister of The Netherlands since 14 October 2010. He is leader of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He is also a part time teacher at a high school in The Hague
In 2010, Rutte won the elections with his party. He did not gain a majority in parliament, he won 31 out of 150 seats. Before he could form his government, there were four weeks of negotiations with the Christian-democratic CDA and the right-wing PVV of Geert Wilders. Wilders was not in the government, but he was supporting the government on several issues. These issues were discussed in those four weeks. When he was sworn in on 14 October 2010, he became the first liberal Prime Minister in the Netherlands in 92 years.
The First Rutte cabinet, consisting of VVD, CDA, and PVV, lasted from 2010 to 2012. The Second Rutte cabinet, consisting of VVD and PvdA, lasted from 2012 to 2017. The Third Rutte cabinet, consisting of VVD, D66, CDA, and CU, lasted from 2017 to 2022.
On 15 January 2021, Rutte announced his resignation and that of his government because of a child welfare scandal.
Rutte has been leading the Fourth Rutte cabinet, consisting of VVD, D66, CDA, and CU, since 10 January 2022.
Mark Rutte is single and lives in The Hague. He frequently uses his bike for government duties at the Binnenhof and the Catshuis.