Careers of long-standing legislators and the making of the parliamentary elite

This chapter on the careers of the long-standing legislators in 25 Baltic parliaments is structured into three parts. First, it applies Putnam’s law of increasing disproportion to the backgrounds of long-standing legislators and reviews the careers of the most experienced parliamentarians. Second, it demonstrates the importance of party switching for the careers of long-standing legislators. Third, it explores to what extent the positions of the most experienced legislators overlap with the posts of those at the top of the parliamentary hierarchy. The conclusion attempts to explain how the clearly observable trends towards a more experienced parliamentary elite go hand in hand with the trend of political de-professionalization.