Politically titled person in reality controlled by outside forces
A puppet ruler is someone who holds a title that indicates they have
political authority, but is loyal to or controlled by outside persons or groups. A foreign government can wield such outside control, and the puppet ruler's territory is referred to as a
puppet state. Internal factors, such as non-elected officials, may also exert power over the puppet monarch. A figurehead monarch, as a source of
legitimacy and perhaps
divine reign, has been the used
form of government in numerous circumstances and places throughout history.
There are two basic forms of using puppets as monarchs (rulers, kings, emperors): a figurehead in which the monarch is a puppet of another person or a group in the country who rules instead of the nominal ruler; and a
puppet government under a foreign power. Examples of the first type are the
Emperors who were the puppets of the
shōguns of Japan and the kings who were the puppets of the
Mayor of Palace in the
Frankish kingdom. Client kingdoms under the
Roman Republic and
Roman Empire and the
British Empire's
colonial relationship with
King Farouk of Egypt in the 1950s are examples of the second type.
A puppet does not have to be a national ruler, or even a person. For example,
Oscar K. Allen was widely recognized to be
Huey Long's puppet while serving as governor of
Louisiana.[3] The government of
Manchukuo was controlled by the Japanese government.