Éminence grise

An éminence grise (French pronunciation: [eminɑ̃s ɡʁiz]) or grey eminence is a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates "behind the scenes", or in a non-public or unofficial capacity.

This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man of Cardinal Richelieu, the de facto ruler of France.^[1] Leclerc was a Capuchin friar who was renowned for his beige robe attire, as beige was termed "grey" in that era. The style His Eminence is used to address or refer to a cardinal in the Catholic Church.^[2] Although Leclerc never achieved the rank of cardinal, those around him addressed him as such in deference to the great influence this "grey" friar held over "His Eminence the Cardinal".^[3] As a result, the term grey cardinal has occasionally been used to express the same concept.

Leclerc is referred to in several popular works. Aldous Huxley wrote an English biography of Leclerc entitled Grey Eminence. There is also an 1873 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, L'Éminence Grise, which depicts him descending the grand staircase of the Palais Cardinal and the deference shown to him by others present. Leclerc is referred to in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers as the character Father Joseph, a powerful associate of Richelieu and one to be feared.

Empress and Empress Dowager Cixi are two examples of women who were the rulers of Imperial China in all but name. As women were (in the main) barred from reigning in their own right, the history of China is replete with cases of women exercising political power through puppet male relatives.^[4]

Jia Nanfeng

The Italian leader Giulio Andreotti was often seen as an éminence grise, excercising great authority over the Italian government even when out of office as Prime Minister (an office he did hold three times) .^[5]

Christian Democratic

Vice President of the United States was described as an éminence grise of the George W. Bush administration, "a powerful but uncompromising politician with the ear of the president" regarding matters of national security and foreign policy.^[6]

Dick Cheney

American diplomat and policy maker was "viewed as the éminence grise, a sort of Rasputin who casts a spell over secretaries of state and presidents", according to Middle East experts who worked with him during the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.^[7]

Dennis Ross

is sometimes considered an éminence grise. Officially, he was the court astrologer to Elizabeth I, but exercised more power as an overall advisor to the Queen.

John Dee

was frequently called an éminence grise by Leon Trotsky, whom he defeated in the succession struggles for Soviet leadership following Lenin's death in 1924.^[8]

Joseph Stalin

's private secretary Martin Bormann was nicknamed the Brown Eminence.^[9]

Adolf Hitler

acted as an éminence grise behind General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. A political hardliner, he was the Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union but also played the role of unofficial Chief-Ideologue of the CPSU and one of the key decision makers during not only the Brezhnev, but also the Khrushchev and Stalin eras. Other observers however have given the title of éminence grise during the Brezhnev era variously to Yuri Andropov, Dmitry Ustinov, Andrei Gromyko, and Konstantin Chernenko.^[10]

Mikhail Suslov

private secretary and later Political Secretary to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, was described as his éminence grise.^[11]^[12]^[13]

Marcia Williams

was revealed by investigations during the 2016 South Korean political scandal to have had previously hidden political influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye.^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] She was perceived to be responsible for masterminding governmental policy and decision-making during Park's administration.^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]

Choi Soon-sil

to Henry VI of England.^[26]

William de la Pole

has been described as an éminence grise given his key role in drafting the Schuman Declaration.^[27]

Jean Monnet

emerged as an éminence grise to Corazon Aquino after the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.^[28]

Joker Arroyo

is often considered the éminence grise of three paramount leaders of China: Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping.^[10]

Wang Huning

is often regarded by observers to be the éminence grise to Russian President Vladimir Putin.^[10]

Vladislav Surkov

was often regarded as the real leader of Poland when his Law and Justice party ruled the country, twice choosing the Prime Minister of Poland, contrary to convention, which holds that as the chairman of the ruling party, he ought to occupy the office himself (he was previously Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007).^[29]^[30]^[31] Despite being only Deputy Prime Minister (and sometimes having no formal role in government at all) he often met foreign leaders, such as Angela Merkel,^[32] Donald Trump,^[33] and Volodymyr Zelenskyy^[34] in a manner akin to a head of government.