zurückgetreten

Zurückgetreten is the past participle of the German verb zurücktreten, which means to step back or to resign from a position. It is used to describe someone who has left an office or role voluntarily, often due to personal reasons, pressure, or controversy. In political and corporate contexts it signals a resignation or a decision to leave a post, typically before the end of a term.

In usage, zurückgetreten can appear in perfect tense with the auxiliary sein: Der Minister ist zurückgetreten. It can function as a predicative adjective: Der zurückgetretene Abgeordnete; or as a prepositive or postpositive attributive form with declension: ein zurückgetretener Geschäftsführer, einem zurückgetretenen Präsidenten. While zurücktreten emphasizes the act of stepping back, the noun Rücktritt is more commonly used to refer to the resignation itself, whereas das Zurücktreten as a noun is less frequent but exists.

Contexts for the term include politics, where ministers or presidents may resign, and corporate settings, where executives step down from leadership roles. The phrase does not inherently imply wrongdoing; it can reflect voluntary retirement, strategic resignation, or a response to public or internal pressure.

Etymology and related terms: zurücktreten combines zurück (back) and treten (to step). Related concepts include der Rücktritt (the act of resigning), kündigen (to resign or terminate), and abdanken (to abdicate in certain contexts). Zurückgetreten remains a standard form in descriptive or narrative usage to indicate that someone has already left a position.