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The phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or group
Cabal

A cabal is a number of people united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a Church body, state, or other community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue....
 that informally exercises the real power of an office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a spouse, aide, or advisor of a political leader (often called a "figurehead") who serves as de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 leader, setting policy through influence or manipulation.

The original concept of a power behind the throne was a Medieval-era figure of speech referring to the fact that the king's policies could be set by a counselor not seated in the throne but standing behind it—perhaps whispering in the king's ear—out of common sight.

Good historical examples of a "power behind the throne" include Diego Portales
Diego Portales

Diego Jos? Pedro V?ctor Portales Palazuelos was a Chilean Political minister, statesman and entrepreneur....
 of Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
 and General
General

A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general....
 Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....
 of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, who was influential in the military's actions leading up to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 and later became Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan

The is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Prime Minister of the Cabinet....
 in 1941.






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The phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or group
Cabal

A cabal is a number of people united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a Church body, state, or other community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue....
 that informally exercises the real power of an office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a spouse, aide, or advisor of a political leader (often called a "figurehead") who serves as de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 leader, setting policy through influence or manipulation.

The original concept of a power behind the throne was a Medieval-era figure of speech referring to the fact that the king's policies could be set by a counselor not seated in the throne but standing behind it—perhaps whispering in the king's ear—out of common sight.

Good historical examples of a "power behind the throne" include Diego Portales
Diego Portales

Diego Jos? Pedro V?ctor Portales Palazuelos was a Chilean Political minister, statesman and entrepreneur....
 of Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
 and General
General

A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general....
 Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....
 of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, who was influential in the military's actions leading up to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 and later became Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan

The is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Prime Minister of the Cabinet....
 in 1941. He served under Emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
 Hirohito
Hirohito

, also known as , was the 124th Emperor of Japan of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989....
, who ruled as a deified figurehead. Another example is the rule of Pol Pot
Pol Pot

Saloth Sar , widely known as Pol Pot, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976–1979....
 in Cambodia
Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
 from 1975-1978, who led the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge

File:CPKbanner.PNGThe Khmer Rouge was the communist ruling party of Cambodia — which it renamed Democratic Kampuchea — from 1975 to 1979....
 to victory following a devastating civil war. King Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk

King Norodom Sihanouk Khmer alphabet#Style wasthe King of Cambodia until his abdication on October 7, 2004. He is now "King-Father of Cambodia," a position in which he retains many of his former responsibilities as constitutional King....
 returned to reign over Cambodia, but held no executive power. In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Edith Wilson - the second wife of President
President

President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, company, trade unions, university, and country. Etymology, a "president" is one who Wiktionary:Preside, who sits in leadership ....
 Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. A devout Presbyterianism and leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913....
 - took over many of the routine duties and details of the government after her husband had been incapacitated by a stroke
Stroke

A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. According to the National Stroke Association, a "stroke" occurs when a blood clot blocks and artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain....
. More recently, Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the George W....
 was seen by some as the power behind the throne of the George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
 presidency.

Another modern example was Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a prominent Chinese revolutionary, politician, pragmatist and reformer, as well as the late leader of the Communist Party of China ....
 in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, who was recognized as China's paramount leader without holding the position of either General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China and heads the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China....
 or President
President of the People's Republic of China

The President of the People's Republic of China is the head of state of the People's Republic of China. The office was created by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China....
. In Latin America, a good example was Doctor Joseph Marie Cordoba Montoya during the Presidency of Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994). Dr. Cordoba Montoya, a French naturalized Mexican, was the Head of the Office of the Presidency. Another example in the same region is the one of the former general Manuel Noriega
Manuel Noriega

Manuel Antonio Noriega is a former Panamanian general and the military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He was never officially the president of Panama, but held the post of "chief executive officer" for a brief period in 1989....
, who was the military leader and the de facto chief 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
François Leclerc du Tremblay

Fran?ois Leclerc du Tremblay , also known as P?re Joseph, was a French Capuchin friar, confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu.He was the eldest son of Jean Leclerc du Tremblay, president of the chamber of requests of the parlement of Paris, and of Marie Motier de Lafayette....
 (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
Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII reigned as List of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs from 1610 to 1643....
, as a Catholic
Catholic

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek language adjective , meaning "whole" or "complete". In the context of Christianity ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages....
 cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
 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
Aldous Huxley

Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. He spent the later part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death in 1963....
).

In sporting politics, a good example of this concept is that of Johan Cruyff's direct influence at FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Bar?a , is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
 as a consultant, despite holding no official title whatsoever.

See also

  • cabal
    Cabal

    A cabal is a number of people united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a Church body, state, or other community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue....
  • cloistered rule
    Cloistered rule

    The Insei system , or cloistered rule, was a specific form of government in Japan, in which the Tenno abdicated, but kept exerting power and influence....