figurehead
{{short description|Person who holds de jure an important title or office, yet de facto executes little actual power}}
{{for|the ornaments on ships|Figurehead (object)}}
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In politics, a figurehead is a practice of 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.
Examples
Heads of state in most constitutional monarchies and parliamentary republics are often considered to be figureheads. Commonly cited ones include the monarch of the United Kingdom, who is also head of state of the other Commonwealth realms and head 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/bigpicture/queen/con_monarchies.html |title=Constitutional monarchies |first=John |last=Bowman |work=CBC News |date=October 4, 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130202191040/http://www.cbc.ca/news/bigpicture/queen/con_monarchies.html |archive-date= Feb 2, 2013 }}{{cite news |last=Stinson |first=Jeffrey |date=May 3, 2006 |title=On queen's 80th, Britons ask: Is monarchy licked? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-20-royals-cover_x.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628201714/https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-20-royals-cover_x.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |access-date=March 9, 2021 |work=USA Today}} Other figureheads include the Emperor of Japan and the Swedish monarch, as well as presidents in a majority of parliamentary republics, such as the presidents of Austria, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Greece, Germany, Italy, India, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan and Singapore.
In one-party communist states, the role of the head of state is also a de jure figurehead with few legally-defined powers, although in many cases the position has simultaneously been mostly held by the party general secretary, who is the de facto leader. During Deng Xiaoping's leadership, the presidency of the People's Republic of China was held by two figureheads, Li Xiannian and Yang Shangkun. Since 1993, the position has also been held by the CCP General Secretary.{{cite news |author1=Chris Buckley |author2=Adam Wu |date=10 March 2018 |title=Ending Term Limits for China's Xi Is a Big Deal. Here's Why. - Is the presidency powerful in China? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-term-limit-explainer.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312103512/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-term-limit-explainer.html |archive-date=12 March 2018 |access-date=28 September 2019 |work=The New York Times |quote=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.}}{{cite news |title=A simple guide to the Chinese government |url=https://multimedia.scmp.com/widgets/china/cpc-primer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513080847/https://multimedia.scmp.com/widgets/china/cpc-primer/ |archive-date=13 May 2018 |access-date=28 September 2019 |newspaper=South China Morning Post |quote=Xi Jinping is 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.}}
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 latter's dismissal in 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 figure behind the throne. For example, Hua Guofeng, despite holding the posts of Premier of the People's Republic, Chairman of the Communist Party, and Supreme Commander of the Military, was widely regarded as a figurehead after 1978 when was politically outmaneuvered by Deng Xiaoping.