An éminence grise (French pronunciation:[eminɑ̃sɡʁiz]) or gray eminence is a powerful decision-maker or advisor who operates "behind the scenes", usually in a non-public or unofficial capacity.
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 an autobiography 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] In Henri-Paul Motte's painting of the Siege of La Rochelle (1881), Leclerc is dressed in brown and hold's Richelieu's red cardinal's hat. 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.
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.
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.[10]
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) .[14]
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.[17]
^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]
References
^O'Connell, D.P. (1968). Richelieu. New York: The World Publishing Company.
^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.
