Data on the occupational composition of the 16th Bundestag

Following previous research, the occupational profiles of the members of the 16th German Bundestag are analyzed. For this purpose, the categories established by Adalbert Hess are used. Moreover, a comparison of East and West German MPs is taken up again. The data show that only a partial convergence of professional profiles is taking place. It still holds true that less East German members of parliament are civil servants, business owners or self-employed. This difference is also present among younger parliamentarians who started and finished their professional careers in unified Germany. In general, more and more MPs are recruited through parties and parliamentary party groups as employers. The alliance between WASG and PDS led furthermore to a stronger representation of union functionaries in the Left party. This ends the former dominance of the SPD in the representation of unions. Reprinted by permission of the VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Germany