gray eminence

American  

noun

1. a person who wields unofficial power, especially through another person and often surreptitiously or privately.

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Usage

What does gray eminence mean? Gray eminence is a term for a person who wields power in an unofficial capacity or who influences things behind the scenes, mostly or completely out of public view.The term is an English translation of the more commonly used éminence grise. The spelling grey eminence is also used.The terms are usually used in the context of politics and are typically applied to someone who wields power through another person who holds an official position. The term often implies that the person is doing this secretly or in an unauthorized or otherwise shadowy way.The terms are most often applied by the media or by those who are critical of such influence.Example: The press is calling him a gray eminence and implying that he is the one orchestrating things behind the scenes.

Etymology

Origin of gray eminence

1940–45; translation of French éminence grise

Example Sentences

At first just a gray eminence working behind the scenes while Clarence pounded the pavement, he gradually grew in prominence, reaching a fun spy-movie throwback sweet spot last episode.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2024

A gray eminence of the avant-garde theater world, Iván disdains the bourgeois sensibilities of Félix’s fans and the kind of work he does to entertain them.

From Washington Post • Jun. 21, 2022

One of these, an unnamed "gray eminence" who ran a graduate workshop that Wallace attended in the 1980s, scolded his students for including "trendy mass-popular-media" references in their work.

From The Guardian • Jan. 15, 2011

That was the sanguine remark of Jos� L�pez Rega, Argentina's star-gazing gray eminence, as he arrived last week in Madrid, supposedly to become a special ambassador from Buenos Aires in Europe.

From Time Magazine Archive

He has been a reassuring gray eminence, radiating sobriety and good sense.

From Time Magazine Archive