Former intelligence chief Dick Schof was sworn in as the new prime minister of the Netherlands on July 2. He headed the cabinet of a right-wing coalition that promises to implement the country's "strictest ever" migration policy, Euronews reported.

The 67-year-old independent prime minister succeeds the departing Mark Rutte, who is set to become the next NATO secretary general this year after 14 years in the Dutch government.

The handover came after more than seven months of protracted negotiations following the victory of far-right leader Geert Wilders in last November's election. Wilders had to give up his ambition to become prime minister to keep the tense coalition talks going.

His government partners found his anti-Islamic and Eurosceptic statements too extreme for him to lead the nation.

Instead of nominating their own leaders for prime minister, the four coalition partners - Wilders' PVV (Freedom Party), the Farmers' Party (BBB), the liberal-conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy VVd and the new anti-corruption New Social Contract party - agreed to compromise with Schof, who previously headed the Dutch intelligence service.

Schof vowed to "decisively" implement the coalition's plans for "the strictest asylum policy in history and the most comprehensive anti-migration package ever."

Wilders' far-right party won five of the 15 ministerial posts in the new government, including trade and migration.