power behind the throne

Fig. the person who actually controls the person who is apparently in charge. Mr. Smith appears to run the shop, but his brother is the power behind the throne. They say that the vice president is the power behind the throne.

power behind the throne

A person with great influence who stays behind the scenes and has no apparent authority. For example, Harry may be the CEO, but it's obvious that his wife is the power behind the throne. [Mid-1800s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Cassandra	[kə'sændrə]
Juliana	yuy-lee-AH-nah (Dutch), yoo-lee-AH-nah (German), joo-lee-AHN-ə (English)	Dutch, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Ancient Roman
Mercia	-	English (Rare)
Buck	[bʌk]
Ruedi	-	German (Swiss)
Judit	YOO-deet (Hungarian)	Hungarian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish