Anéminence grise (French pronunciation:[eminɑ̃sɡʁiz]) orgray eminence is a powerful decision-maker or advisor who operates covertly in a nonpublic or unofficial capacity.
The original French phrase referred toFrançois Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man ofCardinal Richelieu, thede facto ruler of France.[1] Leclerc was a member of theOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin and wore the gray-colored robe of that Franciscan order, which led them to use the familiar nickname the "Grayfriars" in the names of many Franciscan friaries throughout Medieval Europe.[a] The 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 acardinal in theCatholic 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 byAldous Huxley. An 1873 painting byJean-Léon Gérôme,L'Éminence grise, depicts him descending the grand staircase of thePalais-Royal–originally called thePalais-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 1874Paris Salon.[4] Leclerc is referred to inAlexandre Dumas'The Three Musketeers as the character Father Joseph, a powerful associate of Richelieu and one to be feared.
John Dee is sometimes considered anéminence grise. Officially, he was the court astrologer toElizabeth I, but exercised more power as a general advisor to the Queen.
Matthias von Fasbender was the private secretary and chief assistant toArchduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, particularly arranging the details of the Archduke's reform proposals during his bouts of illness.Archduke John of Austria remarked: "Fasbender skilfully exploited this circumstance and increasingly assumed more and more competencies. Over time, Fasbender thus attains the position of an Éminence grise."[7]
Mikhail Suslov acted as anéminence grise behind General SecretaryLeonid 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 oféminence grise during the Brezhnev era variously toYuri Andropov,Dmitry Ustinov,Andrei Gromyko, andKonstantin Chernenko.[12]
The ItalianChristian Democratic leaderGiulio Andreotti was often seen as anéminence grise, exercising great authority over the Italian government even when out of office as Prime Minister (an office he did hold three times) .[16]
Vice President of the United StatesDick Cheney was described as anéminence grise of theGeorge W. Bush administration, "a powerful but uncompromising politician with the ear of the president" regarding matters of national security and foreign policy.[19]
Former president of KazakhstanNursultan Nazarbayev was described as anéminence grise to his successorKassym-Jomart Tokayev until the2022 Kazakh unrest. Through his leadership of theSecurity Council and the rulingNur Otan party, Nazarbayev retained control over key decisions, guiding Tokayev's administration for the initial three years of his presidency.[44]
Azmi Bishara, a Palestinian former member of the Israeli Knesset who fled Israel after being accused of treason, has been described as anéminence grise in Qatar due to his wide-reaching intellectual and political pursuits in the country.[45]
^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]
^Zelenskyy's surname is related to theEast Slavic word "green".
^Criste, Oscar (1912).Erzherzog-Carl-von- Oesterreich-Vol.2 (in German). Vienna: Braumuller. p. 276.
^Leon Trotsky, "Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and His Influence"
^McGovern, James (1968).Martin Bormann. New York: William Morrow & Company. p. 77.OCLC441132.
^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.
^Patterson, Shelia (1957).The Last Trek: A Study of the Boer People and the Afrikaner Nation. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 108.
^Parker, Ashley; Dawsey, Josh; Scherer, Michael (November 13, 2024)."Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, becomes Donald Trump's 'first buddy'".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286. RetrievedDecember 19, 2024.Now, during the transition, Musk has emerged somewhere between unofficial co-president and "first buddy", as he put it in an X posting — bounding in and out of meetings, sitting in on phone calls, weighing résumés and generally becoming as ubiquitous at Mar-a-Lago as the club's gilded inlay.
^Metzger, Bryan (December 19, 2024)."Trump team makes clear Elon Musk isn't the leader of the GOP".Business Insider.It came after scores of Democrats baited Trump with social media posts accusing Musk of being the actual president-elect, the "shadow president", "President Musk" or the "co-president".
