Samenvatting

In Western parliamentary democracies, a growing number of MPs have worked as special advisers, political assistants, and parliamentary aides prior to their election as members of parliament. They have professional political expertise without being elected officials themselves. We call them parapoliticians, akin to paramedics or paralegals. This paper researches this emerging pathway to the Dutch Second Chamber. The paper operationalizes the concept, provides theoretical and historical context and offers insights into the prevalence of parapolitical backgrounds among Dutch Second Chamber members, and examines variations across political parties. In the 2021 Second Chamber more than a quarter of MPs had previously worked as a political aid and these MPs have prominent positions in the parliamentary factions.