Éminence grise

Origin

Historical examples

• Empress Jia and Empress Dowager Cixi are two examples of women who essentially ruled Imperial Chinese dynasties. As women were barred from reigning in their own right, the history of China is replete with cases of women exercising political power through their male relatives.
• The Italian Christian Democratic leader Giulio Andreotti was often seen as the éminence grise of governments even when he was not actually Prime Minister.
• Vice President Dick Cheney 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.
• Former diplomat and policy maker Dennis Ross 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.
• John Dee 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.
• Joseph Stalin 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.
• Adolf Hitler's private secretary Martin Bormann was nicknamed the Brown Eminence.
• Choi Soon-sil was revealed by corruption 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. She was perceived to be responsible for masterminding governmental policy and decision making during Park's administration.
• William de la Pole to Henry VI of England