The Turnover and Politicisation of Lithuanian Public Sector Managers

Abstract

Abstract This article presents the results of our research on party patronage and state politicisation in different Lithuanian public sector organisations (government agencies and agencies under the ministries, state-owned enterprises, personal health care and educational institutions). Although repeating alterations of governments best explained the frequent turnover of some public sector heads, their politicisation was related to the length of party rule in power, beliefs of the political and administrative elite and density of the party networks. The legal protection of civil service jobs was only important in the case of the agencies under the ministries whose managers always held career civil service positions. Furthermore, substantial variation in the scope of politicisation was related to such administrative factors as the political salience of policy areas and organisational functions, as well as budget size, which suggested different motivations and opportunities of party patronage in the Lithuanian public sector.