the power behind the throne
noun phrase
: the person who secretly controls a country, organization, etc., by controlling the actions and decisions of the official leader
He's the company president, but his assistant is the (real) power behind the throne.
Examples of the power behind the throne in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As president, Medvedev was constitutionally charged with directing foreign policy, but everybody understood that Putin was the power behind the throne.
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Boris Bondarev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2022
Boris Bondarev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the power behind the throne.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“The power behind the throne.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20power%20behind%20the%20throne. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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