Abstract
This article explores the extent to which the observable characteristics of political leaders influence the magnitude of electoral personalisation in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. Using CSES data, it analyses 18 legislative elections spanning 16 years of postcommunism, providing strong evidence that personalisation is relevant and widespread in the region and arguing that the electoral context is relevant for how leader characteristics affect personalisation. Some characteristics stimulate leader effects (age, executive experience, tenure as party chair), while others confine them (being an anti-communist dissident), have ambiguous (being a former communist leader) or no effects (gender, incumbency, time in office).
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