Éminence grise

An éminence grise (French pronunciation: [eminɑ̃s ɡʁiz]) or gray eminence is a powerful decisionmaker or advisor who operates covertly in a nonpublic or unofficial capacity.

François Leclerc du Tremblay (right, in black robes) descending the staircase of the French Palais-Cardinal, by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1873)

The original French phrase referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right hand man of Cardinal Richelieu, the de facto ruler of France.^[1] Leclerc was a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and wore the gray-colored robe of that Franciscan order, which led them use the familiar nickname the "Grayfriars" in the names of many Franciscan friaries throughout Medieval Europe.^[a] The precise color was less significant than its unmistakable contrast with the brilliant red worn by Richelieu as cardinal. The style "Your Eminence" or "His Eminence" is used to address or refer to a cardinal in the Catholic Church. Although Leclerc was never raised to the rank of cardinal, those around him addressed him as "eminence" as if he were one in deference to his close association with "His Eminence the Cardinal Richelieu".^[3] Leclerc is referred to in several popular works such as a biography by Aldous Huxley. An 1873 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, L'Éminence grise, depicts him descending the grand staircase of the Palais-Royal–originally called the Palais-Cardinal when it was built for Richelieu in the 1630s–engrossed in reading a book as an array of courtiers bow deeply towards him. The painting won the Medal of Honor at the 1874 Paris Salon.^[4] 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.

Historical examples

• Empress Jia Nanfeng 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.^[5]
• William de la Pole to Henry VI of England.^[6]
• John Dee is sometimes considered an éminence grise. Officially, he was the court astrologer to Elizabeth I, but exercised more power as a general 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.^{[7][better source needed]}
• Adolf Hitler's private secretary Martin Bormann was nicknamed the Brown Eminence.^[8]
• Jean Monnet has been described as an éminence grise given his key role in drafting the Schuman Declaration.^[9]
• Hendrik Verwoerd, prior to becoming prime minister of South Africa in his own right, was considered an éminence grise during his time as minister of native affairs in the cabinets of D. F. Malan and J. G. Strijdom.^[10]
• Mikhail Suslov 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.^[11]
• Marcia Williams, private secretary and later Political Secretary to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, was described as his éminence grise.^[12][13][14]
• The Italian Christian Democratic leader Giulio Andreotti was often seen as an éminence grise, exercising great authority over the Italian government even when out of office as Prime Minister (an office he did hold three times) .^[15]
• Friedrich von Hayek has been described as an éminence grise of the governments of Margaret Thatcher.^[16]
• Joker Arroyo emerged as an éminence grise to Corazon Aquino after the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.^[17]
• 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.^[18]
• Both Alastair Campbell and Anji Hunter have been considered éminences grises of the Tony Blair ministry.^[19][20][21] Peter Mandelson, who remained a significant figure in the later Gordon Brown ministry, has also been considered an éminence grise of New Labour in general.^[22]
• American 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.^[23]
• Choi Soon-sil 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.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} She was perceived to be responsible for masterminding governmental policy and decision-making during Park's administration.^{[29][30][31][32][33][34][35]}
• Devlet Bahçeli was regarded as an éminence grise after declaring his support for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.^[36]
• Wang Huning is often considered the éminence grise of three paramount leaders of China: Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping.^[11]
• Vladislav Surkov was often regarded by observers to be the éminence grise to Russian president Vladimir Putin.^[11]
• Jarosław Kaczyński 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 (as he did from 2006 to 2007).^[37][38][39] Despite being only Deputy Prime Minister (and sometimes having no formal role in government at all) he often met foreign leaders such as Merkel,^[40] Trump,^[41] and Zelenskyy^[42] in a manner akin to a head of government.
• Former president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was described as an éminence grise to his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev until the 2022 Kazakh unrest. Through his leadership of the Security Council and the ruling Nur Otan party, Nazarbayev retained control over key decisions, guiding Tokayev's administration for the initial three years of his presidency.^[43]
• Shinzo Abe was regarded as an éminence grise within his Liberal Democratic Party during his post-premiership, having led his party's largest faction before he was assassinated in 2022.^[44]
• Bidzina Ivanishvili is often seen by observers as an éminence grise to successive Georgian Dream governments.^[45]
• Andriy Yermak has been described as an éminence grise of Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his critics.^[46] Politico called him Kyiv's "Green Cardinal".^[b][47]
• Sue Gray, Baroness Gray of Tottenham has been regarded as an éminence grise in the Starmer ministry.^[48] Gray had previously served as Keir Starmer's chief of staff during his time as Leader of the Opposition, and continued in this role as Downing Street Chief of Staff until October 2024.
• Elon Musk, special appointment to the Department of Government Efficiency under the second Trump administration, has been regarded as an éminence grise by various commentators.^[49][50][51]

See also

• Camarilla
• Consigliere
• Kingmaker
• Power behind the throne
• Svengali

Notes

1. There are different Franciscan orders and in modern times they are more often associated with a distinctive brown color following changes initiated in the 19th century. A Franciscan website explains: "The Friars Minor Conventual up to the constitutions of 1803 were bound to wear ashen gray, but in 1823 black began to prevail. The Friars Minor Observant underwent the official move from gray to brown habits at the 1895 Assisi Chapter when [Pope] Leo XIII gathered the various families of the Observance into the "Friars Minor" (Reformed, Alcantarins, Recollects, etc.). The Friars Minor Capuchin, in 1912, decided on their present chestnut color."^[2]
2. Zelenskyy's surname is related to the East Slavic word "green".