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Civil Servant Quotes

On family sacrifice, career safety, and public duty.

These quotes describe civil service through personal stories: a father whose steady job still meant tight budgets, and a mother urging a safer government career over the uncertainty of filmmaking. See related reflections on the Dad quotes page.

If the church says you are not allowed to steal, and we will ostracize you in our midst if you did, if what a man has does not measure up to what he has, if we found that a man...

Quotes by Yemi Osinbajo

My dad was a civil servant before he retired, and my mum worked, too. We could not always get three meals in a day; sometimes we'd struggle.

Quotes by Nwankwo Kanu

My mother was really against it when I said I wanted to make films. She said that I should be a civil servant because that was safe, and it had security. But my mother was always very proud of my...

Quotes by Hirokazu Kore-eda

As a civil servant in charge of the government's Strategy Unit, I brought in many people from outside government, including academia and science, to work in the unit, dissecting and solving complex problems from GM crops to alcohol, nuclear proliferation...

Quotes by Geoff Mulgan

Civil Quotes

A civil servant doesn't make jokes.

Quotes by Eugene Ionesco

Frequently Asked Questions

What does one quote say about growing up with a civil servant parent?
One speaker recalls their father working as a civil servant before retiring, noting that even with steady income the family sometimes struggled to afford daily meals. See more on the Dad quotes page.
Why did a mother encourage someone to become a civil servant?
One speaker's mother pushed back against a career in filmmaking, urging the safer and more secure path of civil service instead - though she remained proud of her child's eventual film work.
How is government reform described by one civil servant quote?
One official recalls actively recruiting outsiders from academia and science into a government strategy unit, using their civil service role to bring new expertise into public policy.
Do these quotes treat civil service as a financially secure job?
It's mixed - it's often described as safer than riskier careers like filmmaking, though one account shows even a civil servant's income didn't always stretch to cover basic family needs.
What broader theme connects these civil servant stories?
Across the quotes, civil service comes up as a source of family stability and duty, whether through steady if modest income, parental advice favoring safety, or shaping government policy from within. Explore Civil quotes for related themes.

One official recalls actively recruiting outsiders from academia and science into a government strategy unit, showing civil service can also mean reshaping government itself. Explore Civil quotes for more.