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The type of person is one that would work for a shadowy figurehead and hold similar importance to outsiders as their employer. They would be the face you see and the person you would interact with, rather than the actual figurehead.

What is a specific word for it that encompass all the above?

I'm in the process of writing a chapter for my book, and missing the key word has really slammed the anchors on it.

The chapter I'm writing features this type of person, who works for a very powerful individual in the shadows and is considered by everyone to be his employers mouth, eyes and ears. Essentially he is his employer to everyone else.

The word I'm looking for is the employment position held and is both very descriptive of what his role entails and has an air of grandeur to it.

No matter what word put forward by thesaurus sites, they all sound too dull and out of place for the importance and reverence/fearfulness I'm trying to convey. Think mafia consigliere.

Yosef Baskin
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Sam Fisher
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  • Spokesperson? PR head? Rasputin? – Yosef Baskin Dec 31 '21 at 16:10
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    Lol i like the random 'Rasputin' thrown in at the end there! Sadly however, Rasputin isn't a position of employment, though the 2 figures (the one from my book and the mad monk) did hold very similar positions with their employers and the same amount of fear of them. – Sam Fisher Dec 31 '21 at 16:19
  • Does this answer your question? Is there an alternate term for "the power behind the throne?" – Edwin Ashworth Dec 31 '21 at 16:21
  • Not really, they don't hold a position over the figurehead. It's more a case of they hold a position of equal standing to that figurehead, in their absence? A couple of good examples would be: Kaiser Surze's lawyer in the movie, "The Usual Suspects", Or more recognisable, Darth Vader. Both the equal of and subordinate to, the figurehead, dependent on his employers presence. If that makes sense? – Sam Fisher Dec 31 '21 at 16:31
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    I think you're using figurehead incorrectly; a figurehead is "a nominal leader or head without real power." In any case, you might try proxy — "a person authorized to act on behalf of another" — for the person under the true head. – Tinfoil Hat Dec 31 '21 at 22:27
  • Envoy? Agent? Ambassador? Representative? Attorney? Maybe if you explain the exact situation because it sounds a bit vague based on your description. You mean someone with legal authority to enter contracts? – Stuart F Jan 01 '22 at 01:35
  • I think Yosef hit the nail on the head with spokesperson. More informally someone could be the face of the company. – aparente001 Jan 01 '22 at 03:51
  • Have you considered “chief of staff”? It carries the necessary power and influence, though lacks the implicit Darth Vader malevolence. – pbasdf Jan 01 '22 at 09:33

3 Answers3

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Quite a test of vocabulary.

First consider your use of figurehead. You allude to that as a source of power but dictionaries refer to it differently. Here is Cambridge:

Cambridge

figurehead

someone who has the position of leader in an organization but who has no real power

I suggest that a better term here would be something like the idiomatic "Mr Big".

Merriam Webster

Mr Big:

a very powerful or important man. Especially : the leader of a group of criminals

One word that deals with the function of the person you describe is plenipotentiary. The word is mainly concerned with the exercising of diplomatic power on behalf of a country but Merriam Webster admits that its use is wider:

Merriam Webster

plenipotentiary: noun plural plenipotentiaries

a person and especially a diplomatic agent invested with full power to transact business

A more general word is agent

Cambridge

agent:

a person who acts for or represents another

Plenipotentiary is clearly associated with the exercise of power on behalf of the source figurehead (or Mr Big); agent is also associated with the exercise of power at a distance from its source. If you like a grandiose word, plenipotentiary is better than agent but in both cases the fear is generated by knowing about the source of power, not by the agent or plenipotentiary themselves.

Anton
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They would be the face you see and the person you would interact with, rather than the actual figurehead.

They are the face of the organisation.

Here's an example of the use from Going Undercover to Expose the Ku Klux Klan.

He did mention a statewide organiser, but when we requested repeatedly to speak to him, Duke balked. The KKK was a secret organisation, he explained. He couldn’t do that. But because he was the face of the organisation, we could call the Metairie office any time – he’d be happy to talk Klan.

Greybeard
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There's "frontman"

a person serving as a front or figurehead

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/front%20man

"emissary"

one designated as the agent of another : REPRESENTATIVE

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emissary

"envoy"

1a: a minister plenipotentiary accredited to a foreign government who ranks between an ambassador and a minister resident — called also envoy extraordinaryb: a person delegated to represent one government in its dealings with another 2: MESSENGER, REPRESENTATIVE

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envoy

"surrogate" or "deputy"

1a: one appointed to act in place of another : DEPUTY

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surrogate

"proxy"

a person authorized to act for another : PROCURATOR

https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/proxy

"procurator"

one that manages another's affairs : AGENT

https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/procurator

Acccumulation
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