End of career or second spring in professional life? An analysis of the career course of state secretaries after ceasing to hold office

The End of the career or a new professional start? An analysis of the career paths of senior civil servants and junior ministers after leaving the office When former politicians leave their offices and get jobs in the private sector, such professional changes often evoke criticism from the media and provoke public outcry. While media and scholars primarily focus on ministers, they neglect respective turning points in the careers of senior civil servants and junior ministers, the so-called 'Staatssekretare'. Additionally, news coverage about this topic suggests that most politicians as well as senior civil servants get jobs in the private sector, thereby ignoring post-office professional positions in the political or administrative sphere. Therefore, this paper analyses the career paths of senior civil servants ('beamtete Staatssekretare') and junior ministers ('parlamentarische Staatssektretare') after leaving the office. The analysis does not only take professional positions in the private sector into account, but also includes positions in the political or administrative sector. Thus, the paper shows that the proclaimed dominance of private sector positions, as suggested by the media, is an illusion. Instead, many former office-holders take over executive positions in politics or the administrative realm. However, the importance of private sector positions has increased since the 1970s while the significance of administrative and political post-positions tends to stagnate. Moreover, the paper presents differences between the political and administrative elites with regard to their post-office careers. Adapted from the source document.