A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government.

The term bureaucrat derives from "bureaucracy", which in turn derives from the French "bureaucratie" first known from the 18th century. Bureaucratic work had already been performed for many centuries. In countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, bureaucrats are known to be the officials that run the government sector at administrative levels as well as ministerial levels and also they are known as executives that run the corporate sector at managerial and directorial level.