Kingmaker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Kingmaker (disambiguation).
"Kingmaker" is a term originally (1599) applied to the activities of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick during the Wars of the Roses in England. The term has come to be applied more generally to a person or group that has great influence in a royal succession, without being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and/or military means to interfere in the succession. Examples include:
- Warwick, the Kingmaker.
- Nogai Khan who influenced succession in the Golden Horde.
[edit] Contemporary American usage
By analogy, "Kingmaker" is also used in the United States of America to refer to those with the ability to influence the selection of Presidents, Governors, corporate Chief Executive Officers, and the like.
Modern politicians known as "Kingmaker" include:
- Roy Vincent Harris in Georgia (U.S. state) politics.
- Kakuei Tanaka in Japanese politics.
- Karl Rove in American politics of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
