{"id":39039,"date":"2026-08-19T22:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T22:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/39039\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T22:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T22:29:11","slug":"rob-jetten-is-attitudes-cover-star-watch-his-pride-award-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/39039\/","title":{"rendered":"Rob Jetten is Attitude’s cover star \u2013 watch his Pride Award speech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rob Jetten<\/a> is Attitude\u2019s latest cover star, with the Netherlands\u2019 first openly gay prime minister using his Attitude Pride Awards<\/a> speech to call on the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to stand up and fight back against those seeking to roll back queer rights.<\/p>\n

Attitude met the prime minister during the Amsterdam WorldPride<\/a> celebrations in which editor-in-chief Cliff Joannou and global finance and impact leader Krishna Omkar presented the Dutch leader with a special Attitude Pride Award in recognition of the representation \u2013 and hope \u2013 that Jetten has brought to the political world stage.<\/p>\n

Read next<\/p>\n

This year marked the\u00a010th anniversary of the Attitude Pride Awards, which celebrate LGBTQ+ people across the UK and Europe who have fought for equality, overcome adversity or become outstanding community role models.<\/p>\n

Rob Jetten dedicates his Attitude Pride Award to people who \u201care no longer bystanders\u201d<\/p>\n

In a powerful video accompanying his Attitude cover, Jetten speaks about what the award means to him, his own coming out journey, and why he remains confident that LGBTQ+ equality can win out despite growing attacks on queer rights around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to dedicate it to all the bystanders that are no longer bystanders anymore,\u201d Jetten says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not willing to accept the 10 per cent of the people that think they can win this debate just by shouting a bit harder than the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jetten\u2019s Attitude Pride Award comes during a landmark year for the Netherlands. WorldPride Amsterdam has just taken place against the backdrop of 25 years since the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cLGBTQ rights everywhere around the world are under huge pressure\u201d \u2013 Jetten<\/p>\n

But while that history is something to celebrate, Jetten warns against becoming complacent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work to be done,\u201d he says, pointing to pressure on LGBTQ+ rights around the world, including attacks online and in public spaces and legislation that seeks to restrict queer rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also been lazy over the past few years,\u201d he adds. \u201cLGBTQ rights everywhere around the world are under huge pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RobRob Jetten is Attitude\u2019s September\/October 2026 cover star (Image: Attitude\/Dario & Misja)<\/p>\n

The prime minister also argues that the Netherlands itself has work to do, highlighting pressure on acceptance among younger generations and political debates around LGBTQ+ rights.<\/p>\n

Jetten says the answer is greater cooperation between queer communities internationally, with activists, politicians and allies sharing strategies and supporting those facing the greatest pressure. \u201cWe can win this fight,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Jetten reveals what he would tell his younger self<\/p>\n

Also in the speech, he recalls knowing that he was attracted to boys when he was around 15, but being \u201cso afraid to open up about it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Now, at 39, he is the youngest person to become prime minister of the Netherlands and its first openly gay leader. He says he wishes he could go back and tell his younger self \u201cto not be afraid, to be yourself, and to live your life\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is something that we should tell, each and everyone, around the world that is struggling with their identity at the moment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Since assuming the role in February, Jetten has continued to make LGBTQ+ equality a prominent part of his public role. He was the first sitting Dutch prime minister to participate in Amsterdam\u2019s Pride Canal Parade, with this year\u2019s WorldPride celebrations taking place amid heightened concerns over LGBTQ+ safety and discrimination.<\/p>\n

He also addressed the WorldPride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam earlier this month, where he spoke about the importance of defending LGBTQI+ rights and standing with people facing persecution.<\/p>\n

Jetten outlines his plans to strengthen LGBTQ+ rights in the Netherlands<\/p>\n

In his Attitude speech, Jetten also points to measures his government is pursuing in the Netherlands, including stronger protections for LGBTQ+ people, improved access to surrogacy for same-sex couples, better protection from police for gay and trans people and drag queens, and investment in education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very confident that in the next few years, we can show the world that gay rights are human rights, that love is love,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to win this battle with the big majority that believes that human rights are equal rights for each and every one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds, \u201cThis award, I\u2019m very much grateful to achieve it, but it\u2019s not just an award for me,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s an award for each and every politician, human rights activist, NGO, or just a simple bystander that decides not to be a bystander anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Rob Jetten\u2019s full interview in issue 372 of Attitude magazine, on sale in print and digital on 27th August 2026. Pre-order\u00a0Attitude magazine issue 372<\/a> in print now, or in digital on the links below on\u00a0Apple News+<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Attitude app<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rob Jetten is Attitude\u2019s latest cover star, with the Netherlands\u2019 first openly gay prime minister using his Attitude…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[23,25366,6,1020,7829],"class_list":["post-39039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-amsterdam","tag-attitude-pride-awards","tag-netherlands","tag-rob-jetten","tag-worldpride"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}