One of the most discussed topics in society, the press, and social media in the country over the past two days has been the news of the arrest of the former head of the Presidential Administration, academician Ramiz Mehdiyev.
As reported by Yeniavaz.com, one of the most prominent aspects of this topic is the term "grey cardinal," which has been associated with Ramiz Mehdiyev for many years.
It should be noted that although this term has long been associated with Mehdiyev in the press and political circles, there is no precise information about when it first appeared in the Azerbaijani press.
However, the first known written reference to the term "grey cardinal" is an article published in the Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper in June 2004.
This article was published under the headline "Since When Is Ramiz Mehdiyev a 'Skilled Researcher and Outstanding Modern Philosopher'?" and contained sharp criticism of the abuse of power by the head of the Presidential Administration.
The article used the phrase "Grey Eminence" for the first time in this context:
"Every citizen, young and old, knows full well that the ideologist of Azerbaijanism is the architect of our independent state, our national leader, Heydar Aliyev. Under such circumstances, labeling a government official an ideologist is not incompetence, but a deliberate move... The head of the Presidential Administration did not fail to promote his article, including internationally... It is no coincidence that immediately after the article's publication, a commentator from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty commented on it. AzerTAc promptly distributed this commentary to all newspapers under the headline "Grey Eminence Criticizes the Opposition."
One interesting point is that this critical article was published in the Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper, the official organ of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP).
Soon after, the newspaper's then-editor-in-chief, Algish Hasanoglu, was dismissed from his post.
Years later, after Ramiz Mehdiyev left his post as head of the Presidential Administration, Algish Hasanoglu was reappointed editor-in-chief of the Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper.
Incidentally, the term "grey cardinal" in global political terminology refers to a person wielding secret but very strong influence and manipulating events from the outside. This term first appeared in France in the 17th century.
According to historical sources, this expression is attributed to the monk François Tremblay ("Father Joseph"), a close advisor to Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu. Richelieu was officially called the "red cardinal" because he was a cardinal of the Church and wore red habits. "Father Joseph," who remained in the shadows but actually influenced many decisions, was nicknamed the "grey cardinal" because of his monastic habit. Later, the term "eminence grise" became widely used in international media to describe individuals who do not hold official positions but exert significant influence on political processes.
Murad Mamedov
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