Since late 1970's, many OECD countries have established unique, identifiable senior civil service systems. This paper analyzes the international and domestic factors that foster the establishment of a new senior civil system in those countries, exploring the unique political and historical factors of each country. The systemic logic of the new senior civil service regimes is then presented. This paper also discusses the convergence within the new senior civil services between career-based civil service systems and position-based civil services.