Rutte becomes longest-serving Dutch premier

Mark Rutte became the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history on Tuesday. The shrewd, centre-right political survivor spent 12 years in office. On Tuesday he notched up his 4,310th day in office, a day longer than Ruud Lubbers, who served as premier in the 1980s and early ’90s. “I feel like I’m getting to the halfway point,” Rutte, 55, quipped at a July news conference before leaving for summer vacation.