The phrase "power behind the throne" refers to a person or
group that informally exercises the real power of a high-ranking office, such as a
head of state. In politics, it most commonly refers to a relative, aide, or nominal subordinate of a political leader (often called a "
figurehead") who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through possessing great influence and/or skillful manipulation.
The original concept of a power behind the
throne was a
medieval-era figure of speech referring to the fact that the
monarch's policies could be set by a counsellor not seated in the throne but standing behind it—perhaps whispering in the monarch's ear—out of common sight. In recent times, family members and official or unofficial advisers might take on a similar role. Sometimes it is difficult to assess whether such an accusation is true or a
conspiracy theory.
Historical examples
Historical examples of a "power behind the throne" include:
and then finally
Flavius Orestes, the father of the usurper emperor
Romulus Augustulus, and the
Germanic chieftain
Odoacer, who were the masters in the West during the reigns of Emperor
Julius Nepos and then Orestes' son, the aforementioned Romulus. Odoacer then deposed
the figurehead Roman ruler, captured and executed Orestes, and established his own Italian kingdom as the Dux Italiae, only to be overthrown by the
Ostrogothic chieftain
Theodoric on the behest of the Eastern Emperor
Zeno.
In the
Kingdom of Nepal, from 1846 to
1951, the Rana dynasty reduced the kings to the status of figurehead, with the post of
Prime Minister being transmitted hereditarily.
an example was Joseph-Marie Córdoba Montoya during the presidency of
Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988–1994). Córdoba Montoya, a French naturalized Mexican, was the Head of the Office of the Presidency, and was considered the second-most powerful man in Mexico at the time.[1]
Another example in Latin America is the one of the former general
Manuel Noriega, who was the military leader and the de factochief of state of Panama from 1983 to 1989.
A related term is éminence grise (French: "gray eminence"), a powerful advisor or decision-maker who operates secretly or otherwise unofficially. This phrase originally referred to
Cardinal de Richelieu's right-hand man,
François Leclerc du Tremblay (also known as the Père Joseph), a
Capuchin friar who wore grey robes. Because the Cardinal de Richelieu, the power behind the throne of King
Louis XIII of France, as a
Catholiccardinal was styled Son Eminence ("His Eminence"), his alter ego Père Joseph was called l'éminence grise (which is also the English title of his biography by
Aldous Huxley).
Martin Bormann was referred to as the Brown Eminence, brown referring to the brown uniform of the
Nazi Party.
The
modern usage of the term proconsul, as analogy for a person from a foreign power manipulating another country's internal affairs, is also referred as the "power behind the throne".
^"Diego Portales".
Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 21, 2019. When the Conservative Party entered office in 1830, he was, as chief minister, the real power in the land. Disdainful of political freedoms, he imprisoned his pipiolo (liberal) opponents, silenced the opposition press, and subdued the army. Portales ruled through the constitution of 1833, a document that created a centralized state dominated by the conservative oligarchy.