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 of a "power behind the throne" include:
- Europe
- The Roman Empire – Earlier examples include the magistri militum of the later decades of the Western Roman Empire. Examples of such are
- Stilicho, general and advisor to Emperor Honorius,
- Aetius, the power behind the throne of Honorius' nephew Valentinian III,
- Ricimer the puppet master of Emperors Avitus, Majorian, Libius Severus, Procopius Anthemius, and Olybrius,
- 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.
- The Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings in Francia (among the earliest recorded examples of such powerful advisors).
- Chancellor of Germany and Minister President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck, with German Emperor and King of Prussia William I as a de facto figurehead.
- Cardinal Richelieu and his successor Cardinal Mazarin, de facto rulers of France during the reign of King Louis XIII and the early years of that of Louis XIV.
- Marquis of Pombal, a Portuguese statesman and diplomat who effectively ruled the Portuguese Empire from 1750 to 1777 as chief minister to King Joseph I.
- West Asia
- South Asia
- In India, an example was Chanakya, the teacher and advisor of Chandragupta Maurya. A modern example is Sonia Gandhi, acting as the real power behind the erstwhile Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
- Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy, under the Bhat family, they became the de facto leaders of the Maratha Confederacy, with the Chhatrapati becoming a nominal ruler.
- Sarvadhikari, chief minister of the Kingdom of Mysore.
- 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.
- East Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Africa
- Oceania
- Americas
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 Catholic cardinal 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".
Jane Bussey, "Joseph Marie Córdoba Montoya" in Encyclopedia of Mexico vol. 1. p. 344. Chicago: Fitzroy and Dearborn 1997.
"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.