# faceless man

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Someone who is not elected to political office, but exerts power over political affairs from behind the scenes.

## Etymology
Coined by Australian journalist Alan Reid in 1963 in The Daily Telegraph.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/faceless-man