In politics, a figurehead is a person who de jure (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet de facto (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they are head of state, but not head of government. The metaphor derives from the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship.
The word can also have more sinister overtones, and refer to a powerful leader, who should be exercising full authority, who is actually being controlled by a more powerful figure behind the throne.
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Figurehead.
^Bowman, John (October 4, 2002). "Constitutional monarchies". CBC News.
^Stinson, Jeffrey (May 3, 2006). "On queen's 80th, Britons ask: Is monarchy licked?". USA Today. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
June 10, 2023
figurehead, ornaments, ships, object, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, . For the ornaments on ships see Figurehead object This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Figurehead news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed January 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message In politics a figurehead is a person who de jure in name or by law appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office yet de facto in reality exercises little to no actual power This usually means that they are head of state but not head of government The metaphor derives from the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship Contents 1 Examples 2 As a derogatory term 3 See also 4 ReferencesExamples EditMonarchs in some constitutional monarchies and presidents in parliamentary republics are often considered to be figureheads Commonly cited figureheads include Queen Elizabeth II 1 2 who was queen of 15 Commonwealth realms and head of the Commonwealth but had no power over the nations in which she was not head of government and did not exercise power in her own realms on her own initiative Other figureheads include the Emperor of Japan and the King of Sweden as well as presidents in a majority of parliamentary republics such as the presidents of India Israel Bangladesh Greece Hungary Germany Austria Pakistan and Singapore Some heads of state in one party communist states also have limited powers such as President of China when not simultaneously holding the CCP General Secretary and CMC Chairman posts During the crisis of the March on Rome in 1922 King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy though a figurehead played a key role in handing power to Benito Mussolini He also played a key role in the dismissal of Mussolini in 1943 As a derogatory term EditThe word can also have more sinister overtones and refer to a powerful leader who should be exercising full authority who is actually being controlled by a more powerful figure behind the throne See also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Figurehead de jure Executive government Head of state Post turtle Personification Uncle Sam PuppetReferences Edit Bowman John October 4 2002 Constitutional monarchies CBC News Stinson Jeffrey May 3 2006 On queen s 80th Britons ask Is monarchy licked USA Today Retrieved March 9 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Figurehead amp oldid 1123964058, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
