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
Szymon	SHI-mawn	Polish
ZekerİYa	-	Turkish
Shachar	-	Hebrew
Ngawang	-	Tibetan, Bhutanese
Dayaram	-	Indian, Hindi
Fairy	['fɛəri]