The entire West German federal executive elite, politicians and top level bureaucrats, who held office between 1949 and 1984, is analyzed with respect to social background, professional training and career patterns. The time dimension is dealt with in a dual way by distinguishing legislative periods and political generations. The composition of the elite, it is argued, is the product of the kind of supply offered by a specific generation and the demands generated during political periods. It is demonstrated that the important government changes of 1969 and 1982 accelerated or retarded developments inherent in the recruitment basis. The time series reveal, apart from short-term oscillations, some long-term changes. While politicians tend to be more from the middle class, working class background among civil servants has slightly increased. Furthermore, among bureaucrats the monopoly of jurists is waning and uninterrupted civil service careers are being replaced by unorthodox careers. Politicians, on the other hand, have in-creasingly studied law and have acquired administration experience. Taken together with a considerable recruitment from civil service families, it might be justified to conclude that the state affinity of the German political executive is mediated to some extend through bureaucratic culture.