Other forms: civil servants
A civil servant is someone who works for the government in an official capacity. People employed by the Department of Agriculture and NASA are federal civil servants.
Though the meaning of this term varies from country to country, it generally refers to anyone who serves in an unelected, official position in government. Some of these positions require passing a test, the civil service exam. The term civil servant comes from the fact that the original ones were literally personal servants to a king or queen. As monarchies declined, these positions evolved into being appointed or hired by members of an elected government.