The expression gray cardinal what does it mean. Difficult employees

During his life, a person learns a huge number of phraseological units, often without understanding their true meaning. Most people intuitively know the meaning of most catchphrases without thinking at all where this or that idiom came from. Such is the expression " gray cardinal".
If you think about the meaning of this phrase, then several questions immediately arise, for example, why exactly a cardinal? And why is it gray, because their permanent clothes are red.

The history of the expression "gray cardinal"

This phrase has successfully migrated to our time, however, it has partially changed its meaning. Now, as a rule, such an idiom is applied to a person who has significant power, but remains in the shadows, or does not have a high official status.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that no matter how this expression is used today, it appeared at a time when people who did not have official power could rule the country, that is, they gave orders to people who held high positions.

The meaning of the expression "gray cardinal" on Wikipedia

If you look at such a well-known site as Wikipedia, then in it we can find the meaning of the expression "gray cardinal"

Interesting, calm, confident, friendly, well-educated, professional in his field - in general, an ideal subordinate. But in Lately you began to notice character traits that do not match the image of your employee. He is indirectly involved in behind-the-scenes games, it turns out that on occasion he turns to higher authorities, ignoring his immediate supervisor. Common situation? Before you is one of the types of subordinates - the "gray cardinal".

Nose to the wind

It is quite difficult to calculate such an employee. Knowing his own worth gives him confidence in his actions. And, true, colleagues and leaders characterize him with positive side. It is inherent in the “gray cardinal” to play in the dark, without involving outsiders in their plans. He feels the situation well, those around him: what needs to be done at one time or another, to whom what to say. Possessing developed communicative and empathic abilities, he knows how to set a person in the right direction, or provide the support that is expected of him, of course, if it is beneficial for our hero. Well oriented in the vicissitudes of relationships, people of this type are able to maneuver between the warring camps. They manage to sit on two chairs at once, because they use every opportunity “one hundred percent” for their own good. The hero is distinguished by the ability to plan in advance, and at the same time performs the functions of a “rapid response team”. Thus, positive external features are combined with internal inclinations, but the orientation of abilities does not give him the right to be called the best employee.

Find and neutralize

As a rule, the "gray cardinal" is engaged in administrative work or directs small project. But he doesn't intend to stop there. The main motive of the professional movement is the need for power. Therefore, he conducts his own policy, sometimes to the detriment of the interests of the leader. What methods does he use and what is the strategy of behavior? Workers of this type try to establish connections, contacts with superior and influential people. If necessary, they may well take advantage of a professional position. In order to establish a relationship, they can enter into a conversation with a "high-ranking" interlocutor on behalf of the company in which our hero works, or speaking on behalf of the leader. They seek to enlist the support of people of high society. In the eyes of the “grey eminence”, closeness to influential people provides real power, which provides a basis for expanding the boundaries of one’s power.

The technique of the hero's behavior with leadership deserves special attention. He may use a political device: "exchange of favors" with a superior person. What is the meaning of this approach? If the leader has personal problems, then it is quite possible that a “grey eminence” will be nearby. It is he who will help to “cope” with a difficult situation, or rather not to develop this topic among employees. For a small favor in the future, he will count on your special favor. Knowing psychological feature, he skillfully uses it: in a familiar working environment, a person can be taken by surprise if the problems of his personal life are exposed to the public. There is no manifestation of flattery, flirting with superiors, both sides accept the rules of the game. For example, an employee (belonging to this type does not depend on gender characteristics) witnessed an unpleasant conversation between the leader and his family. To which the boss asked not to tell the staff about what was happening, fearing the spread of rumors and gossip. Later, ceteris paribus, it was she who received priority from the employee with other employees.

Management is nothing more than setting other people to work. Lee Iacoca

Not only silence certain circumstances, but also the presentation of information in a special way is the merit of the cardinal. The presentation of the material, the project is given in a favorable light. Moreover, the authorship of the business proposal is attributed to itself, even if collective efforts were made. So trust but verify!

If the cardinal is a secretary or assistant, then they carefully control access to the leader. The rest of the employees behave towards them especially politely, because sometimes it depends on them: how soon the meeting with the boss will take place. That is, using their professional position, they extend power to colleagues.

What to do?

Having understood who is in front of us, we need to learn how to work with such a person. You're not going to fire him, are you? He suits you as a specialist. You just need to follow some rules when interacting with the "cardinal".

1. Always keep the chain of command. Do not engage in frank conversations. Anything you say can be used against you.
2. Try to communicate in private, using the effect of surprise. Say that you understand the strategy of the interlocutor's behavior. He is unlikely to confess, but will stop repeating his actions.
3. Do not follow your lead, remember that in front of you is a person who is fluent in manipulation techniques.
4. If you begin to apply sanctions against a person suspected of "wrongful acts", then you will earn the reputation of an incompetent leader who can only manage by intimidation.
5. As paradoxical as it sounds, delegate some of your powers to him.

His main need is power. Let him get it. In accordance with the new position, he will have to bear additional responsibility: for all misconduct, failure to fulfill plans - he is responsible for the entire department to top management. Thus, you reorient it, now vigorous activity must be invested in business!

"White crows" are not so rare "birds". IN kindergarten the child is not accepted by other children in their game, because he is not like everyone else. Moreover, the nature of the differences has a different basis: for example, the child is overweight, therefore clumsy, or vice versa, is so well oriented in game situation that wins all the time. The otherness of thinking and behavior is not welcomed at school either by classmates or teachers. In adult life the uniqueness and originality of the individual is not always favorably accepted by others. They look at unusual people with interest, curiosity, but at the same time with fear. It is not always possible to restrain emotions and patiently accept the peculiarity of another person.

Smoke without fire

Quite often the object of dissatisfaction becomes quite ordinary people. If we consider the area of ​​professional life, then this phenomenon can be noticed during the period of adaptation of employees in a new team. As a rule, newcomers, having gone to work, try to make every effort. They linger in the office, take on unnecessary obligations, strive to join the team. Such diligence is not unequivocally perceived by colleagues. Someone, taking advantage of the situation, is trying to transfer part of their duties to a newcomer. Other employees take a wait-and-see attitude: they carefully monitor the actions of a new employee in order to highlight mistakes if necessary.

Public opinion is always more despotic towards those who are obviously afraid of it than towards those who are indifferent to it.

No matter how the situation develops, attention to the new employee is provided. But first of all, what is needed is not controlling attention, but helping, contributing to the professional disclosure of a specialist. This process mentors assist. So, an employee who got a job as an office manager got into an awkward situation. Her sincere desire to cope with her duties as best as possible aroused hostility from her colleagues. They tried in every possible way to complicate her life: either the secretary “forgot” to convey the director’s order, then Required documents"didn't come" on time. Then the employee with the mentor turned to the higher authorities with a request to sort out the matter, not being able to independently solve the problems that had arisen. The conversation between the leader and his subordinates took place: the instigators, of course, were not found, but the seriousness of the situation was clear to everyone.

Stay afloat

Why is mobbing (non-acceptance of an employee by colleagues, as a result, survival from the team) such a common phenomenon in the professional community? One answer: the incompatibility of people. Initially, when choosing a professional team, aim for specialists who adhere to a similar system of values ​​or have common interests. It is impossible to create a team of completely coinciding personalities in terms of life goals, attitudes, and characters. Yes, and the case in this case will suffer, because when hiring, you will have to focus primarily on the personal qualities of applicants. Therefore, when selecting personnel, one should rely on professionalism, while not forgetting to study the motivational system of candidates, highlight the range of their interests, which in the future will contribute to team building.

In order not to cause additional hostility of the staff in relation to a colleague - a recommendation to the manager: treat everyone equally - evenly, in a businesslike manner, do not single out your favorites. The appearance of favorites causes a feeling of indignation. Each person, motivated to perform his duties, performs his work at a certain pace: someone faster, someone slower, based on personal characteristics. According to the laws of psychology, you can not compare people with each other. The results of the activities of one person in different periods of time are amenable to comparison. Movement in its own professional development is commendable.

If the problem of hostility of the employee by the team has arisen, then the leader should in no case ignore the internal conflict. If gossip, rumors appear as one of the methods of "office battles", then you should react negatively to them, thereby stopping the spread of negative information that can lead to disorganization of the company.

One way to prevent backstage games is to have an open conversation. At the negotiating table, report what specifically worries you. Having expressed their suspicions, employees involved in intrigues are unlikely to openly confess immediately. But they may well think about it, reconsider their views if they realize that this causes dissatisfaction on the part of the leadership. Accusatory tone should be avoided during the conversation. An employee who has become a "scapegoat" should not look like a victim in the eyes of the team. He should not be pitied by reproach to others. Otherwise, you will earn yourself a reputation as an unpopular boss.

Aggressive, violent behavior the best option in this situation. You should demonstrate to your subordinates your serious attitude: you do not intend to lose sight of the current state of affairs. Your attentive attitude to the situation will help to find peace in the working atmosphere.

• HR policy, Corporate culture

The origin of the phraseological unit "gray cardinal"

The expression "gray eminence" appeared in France in the 17th century during the reign of King Louis XIII the Just (1601 - 1643).

Having become the king of France and Navarre at the age of eight, Louis needed guardianship and mentors to accept right decisions in government matters. Such a mentor and adviser for Louis was Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke de Richelieu or, as is customary, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), who became head of the royal council in 1624. In fact, power was in the hands of Richelieu, by the way, nicknamed the "red cardinal" because of the red cap, which he was obliged to wear according to etiquette. Louis XIII, on the other hand, was mainly interested in balls, ballet, performances, hunting, and love affairs, and he was partly involved in politics and state affairs.

In turn, Cardinal Richelieu had his faithful adviser, a monk of the Capuchin order, a certain Father Joseph or, in the world, Francois Leclerc du Tremblay (1577 - 1638), who was actually called the “gray cardinal”.

Father Joseph - "gray cardinal"

Born into the family of a nobleman, Francois at first chose the path of a military man, but in 1599 he changed his life dramatically and joined the Capuchin Order, where he proved himself to be an excellent orator and preacher, which served his fame, and after the death of Henry IV and growing influence at the French court. Soon, now Father Joseph was noticed by Richelieu and gradually became his " right hand", the closest assistant and colleague. Becoming in 1624 the head of Richelieu's office (not the highest position), father Joseph, together with four brothers in the order, began to carry out especially important and secret tasks of his benefactor. He achieved the result, not particularly caring about the choice of means, but always with imagination and fiction, his ability to conduct intrigues could be envied by Richelieu himself.

Father Joseph was an excellent politician, a skillful and flexible diplomat, possessed of a quirky mind and excellent intuition. Undoubtedly, he enjoyed the full confidence of the cardinal, and therefore had a great influence on Richelieu, advising and guiding his patron in one political direction or another, could put into practice some decisions that were beneficial for himself and the Capuchin order at the highest state level, which he did with success .

As for the ideology, it was higher than that of Richelieu himself and was imbued with the spirit of Catholicism and the struggle against the Protestant faith, which was common at that time in France, Spain and especially in England, where even Richelieu surpassed and was considered enemy number one. With all this, he was immensely devoted to his benefactor.

Many considered Father Joseph to be Richelieu's successor. By the way, Richelieu himself for a long time tried to knock out a cardinal's cap for him, but the Roman Curia in every possible way prevented this, considering Father Joseph to be their rival and opponent in some way. Nevertheless, he became a cardinal shortly before his death, never having survived Richelieu, who was very worried about the death of his faithful colleague and friend. His famous phrase is:

"I lost my footing, I lost my comfort, my only help and support, my most trusted person."

This man was given the nickname "Eminence Gray" because of his gray cloak, in which he constantly walked. Well, his position in society became a characteristic of this nickname.

The life of Father Joseph, by nature secretive, inconspicuous and unsociable, was shrouded in mystery and has many white spots. Despite this, everyone knew perfectly well who Father Joseph was and were afraid of him.

The well-known German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795 - 1886) discovered in the Paris National Library many acts and documents compiled directly under the supervision of Father Joseph.

The English writer and philosopher Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894 - 1963) described the life of Father Joseph in his book The Gray Eminence: A Study in Religion and Politics.

The expression “gray eminence” was popularized by the novel by A. Dumas “The Three Musketeers”, where there is only one phrase, but very accurate for the time described in the novel:

“This threat completely intimidated the owner. After the king and the cardinal, the name of Monsieur de Treville was perhaps the most frequently mentioned not only by the military, but also by the townspeople. True, there was also Father Joseph, but his name was pronounced only in a whisper: so great was the fear of "Grey Eminence", a friend of Cardinal Richelieu.

In the novel "Twenty Years Later" A. Dumas also only slightly mentioned Father Joseph:

"The commandant of the Bastille at that time was Monsieur du Tremblay, brother of Richelieu's formidable favorite, the famous Capuchin Joseph, nicknamed" gray cardinal».

The meaning of the phraseological unit "gray cardinal"

Thanks to the nickname of Father Joseph, the expression “gray eminence” or “grey eminence” began to be used in the meaning of a certain inconspicuous person who, remaining in the shadows, like a skilled puppeteer, manages important and significant matters. But the "gray cardinal", who occupies a not so high position or does not have an official status at all, simply needs his own "red cardinal", who has official power in his hands. It is through him that the “gray cardinal”, being behind the scenes and being a kind of conductor, in one way or another directs the “red cardinal” along the path that is beneficial to him or the interests of both cardinals, which more often coincide.

By the way, the "red cardinal" himself very often needs a "right hand", a confidant, a "grey cardinal" (call it what you want), which he needs for not the most plausible deeds, when it is impossible to go directly and honestly and require not entirely legal actions that should remain secret. That's when the "gray cardinals" come into play, inconspicuous, smart, dodgy intriguers with excellent intuition and flexible in business. And sometimes in these relations it is not clear who is manipulating whom, who is leading whom, and who really has real power in his hands.

The main components of the phraseologism "gray cardinal" is the possession of significant power and the absence of a high official position of the leader. And from the qualities of the "gray cardinal" one can single out mystery, secrecy, inconspicuousness, the presence of mind and intuition. In modern times, the expression “grey eminence” is used in mainstream politics and business, although now the boundaries of these concepts are so mixed up that it is sometimes not clear who is who, a politician in business or a businessman in politics.

Both in Russian and in foreign history there are many examples of the existence of "gray generals", some of which stood out and were really powerful.

Serious politics is not characterized by publicity. Most of the "rulers of the masses" had the so-called "gray cardinals". It was they who made the fateful decisions, while remaining in the shadows.

1
Father Joseph

The expression "grey eminence" itself appeared in France in the 17th century. Since childhood, we all know the image of the Duke of Richelieu - the “Red Cardinal”. In the works of Dumas, he appears as a cunning and treacherous person, but in fact, Richelieu was a talented politician and patriot of France. But even he could not alone fight the powerful Spanish clique at the French court. His faithful assistant and participant in all the intrigues was a man named Francois Leclerc du Tremblay. He once dreamed of a military career, but suddenly changed his views and took the veil as a monk of the Capuchin order under the name Joseph. Because of the nondescript brown robes, he was nicknamed "gray", but respectfully called "Eminence", just like his high-ranking patron, although Father Joseph became a cardinal only before his death, in 1638.
“Two people are the embodiment of French politics at the beginning of the 17th century: one, Richelieu, was its architect, and the other, Father Joseph, its core,” wrote the French historian Pierre Benois about him.
Father Joseph was feared and hated by contemporaries, and modern historians have not yet decided whether he was a genius or a villain. During the Thirty Years' War, he raised taxes significantly, which pushed many French people into extreme poverty. But Father Joseph himself led an ascetic life: he ate bread and water, walked, and even died in complete poverty. He managed the international policy of Louis XIII, flooded Europe and the East with his spies, intrigued against England and France, fought the Protestants. On the other hand, he is called a heartless person and even a sadist. He believed that the end justifies any means. A stern ascetic, a sincere patriot, a devoted friend, a religious fanatic, an unprincipled politician, an insidious intriguer - all this is one person, who still remains a mystery to us, the “grey eminence” of the Duke of Richelieu.

2
Adolf Fredrik Munch

"Grey cardinals" helped their patrons not only in war, but also in love. The Swedish king Gustav III did not get along with his wife Sophia Magdalena, as they said, because of the unconventional preferences of the sovereign. But, nevertheless, the queen had to give birth to an heir to the throne. For help, Gustav III turned to his chamber-page named Adolf Frederick Munch.
According to one version, the young man managed to reconcile the king and queen, and Sophia Magdalena conceived a legitimate heir. According to another, the king, having failed, sent the handsome Munch to the queen, who managed to seduce Sophia (then he was the father of the heir, the future Gustav IV). One way or another, but Munch was generously awarded by both the king and the queen, received the title of baron and the post of quartermaster of the royal palace.
Later, Munch took a place in the Swedish order of knighthood - the Order of the Seraphim, which in terms of prestige can only be compared with the legendary round table King Arthur. By that time, Munch already bore the title of count. Rumor has it that this former page received favors not at all for his advice, but for sharing a bed with King Gustav.
Gustav III listened to Munch both in love and in war. During the conflict with Russia, the king, on the advice of Munch, launched the production of counterfeit Russian coins (moreover, the fake came out of high quality, only the crowns above the heads of heraldic eagles differed). Having won on the economic front, Gustav III launched military operations, but after several victories he decided not to continue the war.

3
Li Lianying (1848–1911)

The East is a delicate matter and incomprehensible to the European mind, and the "gray cardinals" there are appropriate. The most influential people in the Chinese court have long been eunuchs. But not all (there could have been more than 30 thousand of them in the service of the emperor), but the main ones, serving the imperial family and the most beloved concubines of the Son of Heaven.
One of the many eunuchs at court was Li Lianying. According to legend, he was only a shoemaker's apprentice, but, having heard what influence a eunuch could achieve, he castrated himself and, having healed, went to get a job in the imperial service.
At the court, a young servant Li Lianying met with a concubine of the fifth (lowest) rank Lan Ke. She was in disgrace - the emperor visited her only once and did not find her attractive or interesting. So the girl would have had to live out her life in the far corner of the garden, serving other concubines, if not for the help of the eunuchs. Relying on the young beauty, Li Lianying hired teachers for her, she studied music, drawing, and lovemaking. In return, the eunuch received a significant part of her monetary allowance. The next time she met the emperor, Lan Ke was able to please him, and soon gave birth to the only male heir. After that, the concubine received the name Cixi - Merciful and Sending Happiness. In the future, this cruel and ambitious woman will become the last ruler of a dying empire.
Together with his patroness, La Lianying also went upstairs. He took the title of "Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord" - only one rank below the imperial one. He was the only one who could sit under the empress, and even on her throne. Together with Cixi, they squandered the state treasury and made bribery a legal practice. In the struggle for power, neither the eunuch nor his mistress disdained the most vile methods.
Li Lianying did not long outlive his mistress. According to one version, he was poisoned, it is only unknown by whom: too many people hated and feared this man.

4
Joseph Fouche

Some shadow schemers manage to serve not just one ruler, but several. The French politician Joseph Fouche was especially unscrupulous in this matter.
He received an excellent spiritual education and was formally a monk, which did not prevent him from mocking the Catholic Church and emphasizing his atheism in every possible way.
Fouche met the French Revolution with joy - it opened up many new opportunities for him. He joined the Jacobin party and actively supported their policy of terror. Fouche advocated the execution of Louis XVI, during the uprising in Lyon, it was on Fouche's orders that hundreds of people were shot.
But as soon as the popularity of such methods began to decline, Fouche went over to the moderate wing and began to condemn terror. He even participated in the overthrow and execution of his former colleague Robespierre.
In August 1799, Fouche was appointed Minister of Police. Here his penchant for intrigue was fully manifested: he collected compromising materials on the powers that be, created an extensive spy network, a whole staff of provocateurs and "servants of the law", who, in fact, were hired killers.
At this time, Napoleon's star was rising in France. Fouche made a bet on the ambitious Corsican and did not lose. After the coup d'état, Fouche retains his post, but does not enjoy the confidence of the emperor. And not in vain: already in 1809, anticipating the fall of Napoleon, Fouche was negotiating with royalists, republicans and the British, waiting for someone to offer him more.
After the restoration of the Bourbons, among their most devoted supporters is, of course, police chief Joseph Fouche. But Fouche also met Napoleon, who returned from exile, as a liberator, and the emperor again appoints him to the same post. After Waterloo, Fouche promotes the second restoration, and as a thank you, Louis XVIII again appoints him Minister of Police. In this way, Fouche managed to keep his post and his head under five governments in the most unstable times for France. Even more surprisingly, Fouche ended his days in his own bed, in self-imposed exile in Austria, surrounded by his family, to whom he left 14 million francs.

5
Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann

The intrigues of the "gray cardinals" also did not bypass our country. Under Peter I, many bright politicians appeared in Russia, the so-called "chicks of Petrov's nest," Menshikov alone was worth something. But some preferred to remain in the background and help those in power with their advice. One of these shadowy figures was Count Heinrich Osterman, who in Rus' was simply dubbed Andrei Ivanovich.
The future associate of Peter was born in Westphalia, in the family of a pastor, and studied at the University of Jena. But the young man got involved in a duel and he had to flee from punishment to distant Russia.
Osterman quickly learned Russian and got into the service of the embassy order - the prototype of the modern Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There he was noticed by Peter I, who needed talented diplomats. Osterman participated in the conclusion of the Nystadt peace with Sweden, a profitable trade agreement with Persia, an alliance with Austria. Successes in the diplomatic field brought Andrei Ivanovich the title of baron. It was on his advice that Peter I transforms the outdated embassy order into the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. According to Osterman's instructions, a "table of ranks" is being drawn up - a document that finally brought order to the intricate system of Russian bureaucracy.
Like many of his "gray" colleagues, Osterman was resourceful. After the death of Peter the Great, he supported Catherine I and was appointed vice-chancellor and member of the Supreme Privy Council. Under Anna Ioannovna, he received the title of count. Anna Leopoldovna made him an Admiral General. And only Elizabeth dared to get rid of the powerful intriguer, and then at the last moment she replaced the execution with a life exile.

6
Mikhail Suslov

The path of Mikhail Suslov to Brezhnev's "gray cardinals" lay from the very bottom. Mikhail Andreevich was born into a poor peasant family, after the revolution he became a member of the Komsomol, already in 1921 he joined the Bolshevik Party. He received an economic education and even taught at Moscow State University.
His career made a huge leap in the post-war years. Under Stalin, Suslov was responsible for the ideological sphere. He fought against "rootless cosmopolitanism", edited the newspaper "Pravda", was a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The publicist Zhores Medvedev even calls Suslov the "secret General Secretary" and believes that Stalin wanted to see him as his successor.
During the Khrushchev era, Suslov was also in charge of ideological issues. It was on his initiative that troops were brought into rebellious Hungary. In 1962, Suslov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. But he responded to this with black ingratitude, arranging the removal of Khrushchev from the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in 1964.
Under Brezhnev, Suslov still remained in the background, although his role increased. He was now responsible for culture, education, censorship and, of course, as before, for the ideological sphere. Suslov was known as a conservative and a dogmatist, his name is associated with the persecution of the intelligentsia, the arrests of dissidents, the exile of Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov.
Perhaps the most public act in Suslov's biography was his funeral. They were shown on television, and the whole country plunged into three days of mourning. Suslov died at the age of 79, a few months before Brezhnev, without seeing the collapse of the idea for which he fought, albeit in a very peculiar way, all his life.

Edward Mandel House

In 1876, Edward House, along with his friend Oliver Morton, became involved in the presidential election campaign. Morton's father was a senator, and the young men were able to get "behind the scenes" of the country's political life. It was then that Edward realized an important thing. “Only two or three in the Senate and two or three in the House of Representatives, along with the president, really rule the country. All the rest are only dummy figures ... therefore I did not aspire to official posts and did not try to orate, ”he will write later.
After receiving the inheritance, Edward gladly went into business, but it was just a game for him. The only thing that really interested him was politics. In 1892, he takes a seemingly reckless step: in the gubernatorial election in Republican to the roots of Texas, he supports the Democratic candidate James Hogg. House is behind the scenes running Hogg's campaign, and his candidate is victorious.
For the next 10 years, House was an adviser to four governors without holding any official post. But only in 1912, during the next presidential election, he enters the world political arena. House helps Woodrow Wilson come to power, who replies to his "gray eminence" with gratitude and friendship. Wilson's further policy was determined by US financial circles, and above all by House, who called himself "the power behind the throne."
Thanks to House's policy, the United States began to actively intervene in European events. The League of Nations was practically his offspring, as were many of the decisions of the Paris Conference that ended I world war. One project of House, fortunately, was still not implemented: he believed that the rest of the world would live more peacefully if there were not one state, but four instead of Russia.
At the end of his life, House left big politics and took up literary work.
Vera Potopaeva

Eminence grise

Eminence grise
From French: Eminence grise. Literally: Gray Eminence.
France in the 17th century this was the name of the assistant to Cardinal (since 1622) Richelieu (1585-1642), the Capuchin monk Father Joseph Francois le Clerc du Trambey, who was the right hand of the cardinal and had a considerable influence on him, while keeping in the background. Father Joseph wore a gray cassock (hence the nickname), in contrast to his patron, dressed in a scarlet cardinal robe.
IN modern language the nickname "gray cardinal" usually refers to Richelieu himself, referring to the huge influence that he had on the King of France, Louis XIII the Just (in 1624, Cardinal Richelieu became the head of the royal council, that is, the actual ruler of France).
Allegorically: about someone who acts behind the scenes, secretly, in the shadows, but at the same time really determines the actions of a formal leader (disapproved).

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

See what "Gray Cardinal" is in other dictionaries:

Exist., Number of synonyms: 1 puppeteer (6) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Francois du Tremblay. Artist Jean Leon Gerome The Gray Cardinal ... Wikipedia

eminence grise- about someone who has great power, but does not occupy the corresponding high position and remains in the shadows. The turnover is associated with the name of the monk - Father Joseph, confidant, inspirer and participant in the intrigues of Cardinal Richelieu ... Phraseology Handbook

CARDINAL, a, husband. 1. For Catholics: the highest (after the pope) spiritual rank, as well as a person who has this rank. 2. unchanged The same as crimson (according to the color of the cardinal's mantle). The gray cardinal is a person who has great power, but does not occupy ... ... Dictionary Ozhegov

cardinal- I. CARDINAL a, m. cardinal m., lat. cardinalis. 1. The highest spiritual rank after the pope in catholic church, hallmark which are the red hat and mantle; a person who has this rank. ALS 1. There are cases in which even the smallest number ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

This term has other meanings, see Cardinal (meanings). Vestments of Cardinals Cardinal ... Wikipedia

App., use. very often Morphology: ser, sulphur, sulphur, sulphur; grayer; nar. gray 1. Gray is a color intermediate between black and white, as well as an object of this color. Gray building. | Gray screen. | Gray overcoat. | Gray car. |… … Dictionary of Dmitriev

This article lacks links to sources of information. Information must be verifiable, otherwise it may be questioned and removed. You can ... Wikipedia

Cardinal Color coordinates HEX #C41E3A RGB¹ (r, g, b) (196, 30, 58) CMYK² ... Wikipedia

The gray cardinal is so called influential people(especially in politics), acting behind the scenes and usually not holding formal positions with such powers. Contents 1 Origin of the concept 2 Examples in history 3 Literature ... Wikipedia

Books

• Banker. The Gray Cardinal, Dick Francis. Your attention is invited to a collection of novels by D. Francis ...