Powerful decision-maker or adviser "behind the scenes"
An éminence grise (French pronunciation:[eminɑ̃sɡʁiz]) 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.[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 considerable influence this "grey" friar held over "His Eminence the Cardinal".[3] As a result, the term grey cardinal has also been used.
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.
The Italian
Christian Democratic leader
Giulio Andreotti was often seen as the éminence grise of governments even when he was not actually Prime Minister.[5]
Vice President of the United States
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.[6]
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.
Mikhail Suslov acted as an éminence grise behind General Secretary
Leonid Brezhnev. A political hardliner aptly nicknamed the Grey Cardinal of the Kremlin,[by whom?] 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]
^Berend, Ivan T. (2021). The Economics and Politics of European Integration: Populism, Nationalism and the History of the EU (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 50.
ISBN978-0-367-55842-0.
Powerful decision-maker or adviser "behind the scenes"
An éminence grise (French pronunciation:[eminɑ̃sɡʁiz]) 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.[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 considerable influence this "grey" friar held over "His Eminence the Cardinal".[3] As a result, the term grey cardinal has also been used.
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.
The Italian
Christian Democratic leader
Giulio Andreotti was often seen as the éminence grise of governments even when he was not actually Prime Minister.[5]
Vice President of the United States
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.[6]
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.
Mikhail Suslov acted as an éminence grise behind General Secretary
Leonid Brezhnev. A political hardliner aptly nicknamed the Grey Cardinal of the Kremlin,[by whom?] 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]
^Berend, Ivan T. (2021). The Economics and Politics of European Integration: Populism, Nationalism and the History of the EU (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 50.
ISBN978-0-367-55842-0.