policy wonk

English

Noun

policywonk(pluralpolicy wonks)

1. (politics,government)A person whostudiesordevelopsstrategiesand policies, especially one who has akeeninterestin andaptitudefortechnicaldetails.
   • 1984Oct. 29,New Republic,p. 16:

     Mondale's passionate attachment to the issue reflects his thralldom to thepolicy wonksand wise men of the Washington establishment.

   • 1988July 25,Joe Klein,“'President Dukakis': what the First Hundred Days Could be Like”, inNew York Magazine,volume21,number29,page27:

     Kirk O'Donnell, 42, who recently joined the campaign staff, is a unique combination of Boston pol and "policy wonk"who is best known in Washington as Tip O'Neill's former right-hand man, the guy who sold the speaker's program to the congressional troops.

   • 1992July 20, Walter Shapiro, “Gore A Hard-Won Sense of Ease”,inTime:

     Clinton and Gore.... both are new-ideas moderates with apolicy wonk'slove of the intricacies of complex issues.

   • 2010,The Economist,Jul-Aug, p. 25:

     But access to ministers is not the only reason right-of-centrepolicy wonksare excited.

Synonyms

• theoretician