Kingmaker
Encyclopedia
Kingmaker is a term originally applied to the activities of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
— "Warwick the Kingmaker" — during the Wars of the Roses
in England
. The term has come to be applied more generally to a person or group that has great influence in a royal
or political succession, without being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and/or military means to interfere in the succession. They may also be assigned as Minister of State without Portfolio. Examples include:
, a kingmaker is a player who lacks sufficient resources or position to win at a given game, but possesses enough remaining resources to decide which of the remaining viable players will eventually win.
Instead of referring to an individual, the term can also be applied to an institution or think tank(s) whose opinions are held in great regard by the interested organization. The influence of the religious orders like the Roman Catholic Church in running the affairs of the state during medieval times (through the King) is a well known example. Kingdoms and Empires in the Indian sub-continent often relied on their religious heads. Besides religious orders, even countries can fit into this terminology when they can dicate the affairs of the other country (either directly or indirectly). In current political scenarios across the world the term can expand its scope to include powerful lobbying groups, whose role is often seen as a defining factor on major issues.
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
— "Warwick the Kingmaker" — during the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The term has come to be applied more generally to a person or group that has great influence in a royal
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
or political succession, without being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and/or military means to interfere in the succession. They may also be assigned as Minister of State without Portfolio. Examples include:
- ChanakyaChanakyaChānakya was a teacher to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta , and the first Indian emperor generally considered to be the architect of his rise to power. Traditionally, Chanakya is also identified by the names Kautilya and VishnuGupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise...
in the Mauryan Empire. - VidyaranyaVidyaranya' is variously known as being a kingmaker, patron saint and high priest to Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I, the founders of the Vijayanagar Empire. He was the 12th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from 1380 to 1386 A.D. He was born to and in in 1268 CE. Another account has it that he...
in the Vijayanagara EmpireVijayanagara EmpireThe Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
. - RicimerRicimerFlavius Ricimer was a Germanic general who achieved effective control of the remaining parts of the Western Roman Empire, during the middle of the 5th century...
in the Late Western Roman EmpireWestern Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
. - Richard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
in the Wars of the RosesWars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. - Nogai KhanNogai KhanNogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
, Mamai KhanMamaiMamai of Borjigin kin, was a powerful military commander of the Blue Horde in the 1370s which is now the Southern Ukrainian Steppes and the Crimean Peninsula....
, and Edigu KhanEdiguEdigu was a Mongol emir of the White Horde who founded the new political entity, which came to be known as the Nogai Horde....
in the Golden HordeGolden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
. - Baron Carl Otto MörnerCarl Otto MörnerBaron Carl Otto Mörner was a Swedish courtier, and member of the Diet, advocated for the succession to the Swedish crown to Jean Baptiste Bernadotte in 1810....
in the House of Bernadotte (King of Sweden). - Wiremu TamihanaWiremu TamihanaWiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa , generally known as Wiremu Tamihana, was a leader of the Ngati Haua Māori iwi in nineteenth century New Zealand, and is sometimes known as the kingmaker for his role in the Māori King Movement....
in the Māori King MovementMaori King MovementThe Māori King Movement or Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the Māori tribes of New Zealand in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the colonising people, the British, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land...
. - Citizens of West AfricaWest AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
's sub-national monarchiesMonarchyA monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
often use the word kingmaker to refer to the members of the electoral colleges that choose their sovereigns because they also usually officiate during the coronation rituals and rites of purification, the word in this particular case taking on a literal meaning i.e.: a Maker of the king.
In game theory
In game theoryGame theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
, a kingmaker is a player who lacks sufficient resources or position to win at a given game, but possesses enough remaining resources to decide which of the remaining viable players will eventually win.
Contemporary usage
By analogy, "Kingmaker" is also used in some countries to refer to those individuals with the ability to influence the selection of political leaders. The term though always unofficial, has tended to gain more importance in places of power struggle e.g. politics, sports organizations etc. Consequently, bestowement of such a title is looked upon significantly and more often as a means of indirect gratification for individuals wanting to silently dictate the affairs of the organization. The term is also occasionally used in a pejorative sense during elections, where a small number of independent political candidate(s) who hold a sizeable sway in the 'vote bank', can most likely decide the course of an outcome.Instead of referring to an individual, the term can also be applied to an institution or think tank(s) whose opinions are held in great regard by the interested organization. The influence of the religious orders like the Roman Catholic Church in running the affairs of the state during medieval times (through the King) is a well known example. Kingdoms and Empires in the Indian sub-continent often relied on their religious heads. Besides religious orders, even countries can fit into this terminology when they can dicate the affairs of the other country (either directly or indirectly). In current political scenarios across the world the term can expand its scope to include powerful lobbying groups, whose role is often seen as a defining factor on major issues.
Modern Kingmakers
Modern politicians known as "Kingmaker" include:- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - a pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movementIndian independence movementThe term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
under whose influence were all the major political leaders of the Indian freedom struggle including Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
and Sardar Vallabhai Patel. - James FarleyJames FarleyJames Aloysius Farley was the first Irish Catholic politician in American history to achieve success on a national level, serving as Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and as Postmaster General simultaneously under the first two...
- orchestrated the gubernatorial and presidential elections of Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(1928-1940). - K. KamarajK. KamarajKumarasami Kamaraj better known as K. Kamaraj was an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during 1954-1963 and a Member of Parliament during 1952-1954 and 1969-1975...
- instrumental in making Lal Bahadur ShastriLal Bahadur ShastriLal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...
and Indira GandhiIndira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
as Prime Ministers of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the year 1964 and 1966 respectively. - Sonia GandhiSonia GandhiSonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
- seen to many the de factoDe factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
Prime Minister of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
; named as a kingmaker on numerous occasions, TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine named her as such and called her IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's leader in all but title. - Dick MorrisDick MorrisDick Morris is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant....
- orchestrated the gubernatorial and presidential elections of Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. - Girija Prasad KoiralaGirija Prasad KoiralaGirija Prasad Koirala was a Nepalese politician and the President of the Nepali Congress, a major political party. He was Prime Minister of Nepal for four times, serving from 1991 to 1994, 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and from 2006 to 2008; he was also Acting Head of State from January 2007 to July...
- described as a kingmaker in NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
with the election of Madhav Kumar NepalMadhav Kumar NepalMadhav Kumar Nepal is a Nepali politician who was Prime Minister of Nepal from May 25, 2009 until February 6, 2011. He was nominated as a PM through internal arrangements within the current ruling coaliation government of Nepal. Nepal announced his resignation as Prime Minister on June 30, 2010...
. - Fred MalekFred MalekFrederic Vincent "Fred" Malek is the former President of Marriott Hotels and Northwest Airlines and former assistant to United States Presidents Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush. Malek served as a National Finance Committee co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign...
- described as a kingmaker for the Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in the United States. - David AxelrodDavid AxelrodDavid Axelrod may refer to:* David Axelrod * David Axelrod , Senior Advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama* David B. Axelrod , poet and educator...
- described by U.S. News and World Reports as a "reporter turned kingmaker" with respect to the ascendancy of Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. - Bakili MuluziBakili MuluziElson Bakili Muluzi is a Malawian politician. He was the President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004 and was Chairman of the United Democratic Front until 2009.-Presidency:...
- described as a kingmaker in MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
. - Stefan Cardinal WyszyńskiStefan Cardinal WyszynskiStefan Wyszyński was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948, archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. Appointed cardinal on 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII, he assumed the title of Primate of Poland...
- was highly instrumental in the papal election in 1978 of Karol Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków, as John Paul II. - Rupert MurdochRupert MurdochKeith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
- a successful media tycoon who has consistently backed every winning United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Prime Minister since 1979. - Nick CleggNick CleggNicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
- described as a kingmaker in the 2010 UK general election as the leader of the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
following a hung parliament result. - Sarah PalinSarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
- During the 2010 midterm elections, Sarah Palin endorsed 64 Republicans nationwide. Out of 64 Palin-endorsed politicians, 33 won the republican nomination and later the general election. Along with this, her endorsement helped fx. Karen HandelKaren HandelKaren C. Handel is an American politician in the state of Georgia who served as Secretary of State of Georgia from 2007 until her resignation in January 2010 when she ran for Governor of Georgia in the 2010 election as a Republican. She announced in December 2009 that she would resign as...
and Nikki HaleyNikki HaleyNimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley is the 116th and current Governor of South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, Haley represented Lexington County in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010....
to take the lead in the Republican gubernatorial primaries in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. This trend, that a candidate went from being in obscurity to leading the primary polls through Sarah Palins endorsement, caused some to claim that Palin is a kingmaker in Republican politics.
In fiction
- The character Leon FortunatoLeon FortunatoLeonardo "Leon" Fortunato is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of Christian novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. He is in fact the False Prophet, and he is a key member of the inner circle of Nicolae Carpathia, businessman, financier, politician and Antichrist.-Character...
from the Left BehindLeft Behind (series)Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series of novels is often described as a kingmaker. - Marcus Jefferson Wall, the antagonist of much of the Matador series by Steve Perry is called the Kingmaker, and controls the President of the Galactic Federation
- The character Mayvar Kingmaker from the The Saga of the Exiles series of novels tests the ability of aspirants before they can be proclaimed king of the TanuTanuTanu may refer to:*Tanu, a Samoan prince who was allied with American and British forces during the Second Samoan Civil War*Tanu , an important historical village of the Haida people on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada...
.