East Germans in the political elites of reunited Germany: the problem of underrepresentation

Abstract

The underrepresentation of East Germans (“ossis”) in German elites is studied. After more than 30 years since the reunification of Germany, the share of former GDR citizens in high government positions in the political system of the state at large is far smaller than their percentage in the population. Historical preconditions for the predominance of West Germans in leadership positions are explored, the share of East Germans in different elite groups is analyzed, and the factors that could facilitate East Germans’ entry to elite positions are suggested. Based on a large amount of data, it is concluded that East Germans are unevenly represented even among political elites. But the territorial principle and the democratic form of recruitment (elections) could facilitate East Germans’ entry into an elite. The research based on statistical data published by German scholars as well as data on the German political elite collected by the author and her colleagues is introduced in Russian and foreign academic literature for the first time. The database consists of information about 736 members of the Bundestag, 17 members of the federal government, 173 members of the federal state governments, and 59 state secretaries for the period up to November 16, 2023.