Figurehead
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In politics, afigureheadis a practice of whode jure(in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yetde facto(in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they arehead of state,but nothead of government.Themetaphorderives from the carvedfigureheadat the prow of a sailing ship.
Examples
[edit]Heads of state in mostconstitutional monarchiesandparliamentary republicsare often considered to be figureheads. Commonly cited ones include themonarch of the United Kingdom,who is also head of state of the otherCommonwealth realmsandhead of the Commonwealth,but has no power over the nations in which the sovereign is not head of government and does not exercise power in the realms on their own initiative.[1][2]Other figureheads include theEmperor of Japanand theSwedish monarch,as well aspresidentsin a majority of parliamentary republics, such as the presidents ofIndia,Israel,Bangladesh,Ethiopia,Greece,Italy,Germany,Austria,Pakistan,SingaporeandIraq.
Inone-partycommunist states,the role of the head of state is also ade jurefigurehead with few legally-defined powers, although in many cases the position has simultaneously been mostly held by the party general secretary, who is thede factoleader. DuringDeng Xiaoping's leadership, thepresidency of the People's Republic of Chinawas held by two figureheads,Li XiannianandYang Shangkun.Since 1993, the position has also been held by theCCP General Secretary.[3][4]
During the crisis of theMarch on Romein 1922, KingVictor Emmanuel III of Italy,though a figurehead, played a key role in handing power toBenito Mussolini.He also played a key role in thelatter's dismissalin 1943.
The word could also be derogatorily used to refer to a powerful leader, who nominally exercises full authority, but is actually controlled by a more powerful figurebehind the throne.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Bowman, John (October 4, 2002)."Constitutional monarchies".CBC News.Archived fromthe originalon Feb 2, 2013.
- ^Stinson, Jeffrey (May 3, 2006)."On queen's 80th, Britons ask: Is monarchy licked?".USA Today.Archived fromthe originalon June 28, 2011.RetrievedMarch 9,2021.
- ^Chris Buckley; Adam Wu (10 March 2018)."Ending Term Limits for China's Xi Is a Big Deal. Here's Why. - Is the presidency powerful in China?".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 12 March 2018.Retrieved28 September2019.
In China, the political job that matters most is the General Secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China's presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.
- ^"A simple guide to the Chinese government".South China Morning Post.Archivedfrom the original on 13 May 2018.Retrieved28 September2019.
Xi Jinpingis the most powerful figure in the Chinese political system. He is the President of China, but his real influence comes from his position as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.