L'éminence grise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An éminence grise (French for "grey eminence") is a powerful advisor or decision-maker who operates secretly or unofficially. This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man of Cardinal Richelieu the Red Eminence. Leclerc was a Capuchin friar who wore grey robes. The phrase "His Eminence" is used to describe a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, although Leclerc du Tremblay never achieved that rank.
Aldous Huxley wrote an English biography of Leclerc entitled Grey Eminence, and there is also an 1873 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, "L'Éminence Grise," which depicts him descending the grand staircase of the Palais Cardinal.
