leading light

A person who is well-respected and viewed as important to a group. As a leading light of the human rights organization, he helped improve working conditions for millions of people around the world.

leading light

An important or influential individual, as in Jim was a leading light in his community. This expression, alluding to moral guidance, dates from about 1870, but terms such as a shining light have been used for an outstanding person since the first half of the 1500s.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Lotus	LO-təs	English (Rare)
Pantaleon	-	Ancient Greek
Whitaker	['hwitəkə(r)]
Abraam	-	Biblical Greek, Georgian
AnastÁZia	-	Slovak
Dana (2)	DAY-nə	English