Puppet ruler

A puppet ruler is a person who has a title indicating possession of political power, but who, in reality, is controlled by outside individuals or forces. Such outside power can be exercised by a foreign government, in which case the puppet ruler's domain is called a puppet state. But the puppet ruler may also be controlled by internal forces, such as non-elected officials.

A puppet does not have to be a national ruler. For example, Oscar K. Allen was widely recognized to be Huey Long's puppet while serving as governor of Louisiana.