The phrase "power behind the throne" refers to a person or group that is understood to de facto wield the power of a high-ranking official (originally, and hence the name, a monarch), or whose support must be maintained to continue in office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a nominal subordinate or advisor to an officeholder (often called a "figurehead") who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through influence, manipulation, or both.
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 counselor 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. The term typically has a negative slant, implying that the power behind the throne exercises their influence illegitimately, or at least extralegally. A similar meaning is conveyed by the term éminence grise.
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.
In Tonga, Australian missionary Rodger Page was royal chaplain to Queen Sālote for over 20 years and has been described as a power behind the throne.[5]
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.[6]
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 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 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.
