eminence grise

English Thesaurus

1. (French) a person who exercises power or influence in certain areas without holding an official position (noun.person)

hypernym	:	important person, influential person, personage,
definition	:	a person whose actions and opinions strongly influence the course of events (noun.person)

domain usage	:	french,
definition	:	the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France (noun.communication)