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Bureaucrat vs Politician - What's the difference?

bureaucrat | politician |

As nouns the difference between bureaucrat and politician

is that bureaucrat is an official who is part of a bureaucracy while politician is one engaged in politics, especially an elected or appointed government official.

bureaucrat

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • An official who is part of a bureaucracy

    • Usage notes

    * (an official) The term (term), while often used in a professional and respectful manner, is oftentimes disdained by those who work in organizations, especially governmental organizations. This is due to connotations of rigidity, indifference, and especially laziness that the term can sometimes connote (the latter especially reflected in the oft-repeated derisive term (term)). As a result, many workers in organizations, especially governmental ones, prefer terms such as (manager), (public manager), (civil servant), (public servant), (public official), etc.

    Related terms

    * bureaucracy * bureaucratic * bureaucratese

    politician

    English

    Alternative forms

    * polititian (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One engaged in politics, especially an elected or appointed government official.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-31, volume=408, issue=8851, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= The Satirical Verses , passage=It is not just politicians who find aspects of the explosion in satire unwelcome. Thanks to the internet, professional purveyors of the stuff face a lot more competition. For once, the joke is at their expense. A niche craft practised by a talented few has turned into a globally popular hobby, and what was once considered audacious commentary is now mainstream.}}
  • Specifically, one who regards elected political office as a career.
  • * {{quote-book, 1996, (Tom Clancy), page=438, isbn=0399142185, title= Executive Orders
    • , passage=I never wanted to be one, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm not a politician now. Am I the best man for this job? Probably not. I am, however, the President of the United States,
  • A politically active or interested person.
  • * {{quote-book, 1863, chapter=The Fountain Kloof, , page=211, title= The Sunday at Home
    • , passage=You used to be such a politician . Do you remember the debates we held in Fitzroy's rooms?}}
  • A sly or ingratiating person.
  • * {{quote-book, 1969, David E. Sanford, title= My Village, My World, page=90
    • , passage=Mrs. Dimitriou blushed at the compliment. "Antonios, you are such a politician ," her husband chuckled. }}