succession
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succession
The taking over of a position, office, or role from a person who previously held it.
Die Regelung der Nachfolge im Familienunternehmen gestaltete sich schwierig.
Arranging the succession in the family business proved difficult.
'Nachfolge' (succession) is made up of the preposition 'nach' (after) and the noun 'die Folge' (sequence/consequence). So it literally describes what 'nach' (after) someone or something 'folgt' (follows).
Wer wird die Nachfolge des alten Direktors antreten?
Who will succeed the old director?
The noun 'die Nachfolge' (succession) is closely related to the verb 'nachfolgen' (to succeed/follow). When one person succeeds another in office, they 'tritt deren Nachfolge an' (take over their succession/position).
Der Kronprinz wird dem König nachfolgen.
The crown prince will succeed the king.
'Nachfolge' (succession) is often used in fixed phrases. The most important ones are 'die Nachfolge antreten' (to take over the position) and 'die Nachfolge regeln' (to decide who will take over the position).
Der Vize-Präsident trat die Nachfolge des zurückgetretenen Präsidenten an.
The vice president succeeded the president who had resigned.
To say whose succession it is, German usually uses the genitive or 'von' + dative. Both are correct; the genitive is somewhat more formal.
Er übernimmt die Nachfolge des Firmengründers.
He takes over the company founder's position.
successor
'der Nachfolger' and 'die Nachfolge' both belong to situations where someone takes over a position or office from another person. 'der Nachfolger' usually refers to the specific person: who comes after the previous person? 'die Nachfolge' refers more to the process, the arrangement, or sometimes also the whole group of people taking over. Learners may confuse the words because both often appear in the same conversations, for example in companies or clubs. As a simple guide: when talking about a person, you are more likely to say 'der Nachfolger'; when asking how the takeover is being organized, you are more likely to say 'die Nachfolge'.
Die Nachfolge in der Firma ist noch nicht klar geregelt.
The succession in the company has not yet been clearly arranged.
Nach dem Rücktritt des Trainers sucht der Verein einen passenden Nachfolger.
After the coach resigned, the club is looking for a suitable successor.