elder statesmen
Respected political veterans
Elder statesmen are experienced political figures, usually retired or semi-retired, whose long careers have earned them respect and influence.
They are consulted for wisdom rather than wielding direct power: The party's elder statesmen urged caution.
The term extends beyond politics to any field where senior figures command deference: the elder statesmen of jazz.
- stateswomanFemale diplomatic leader
- advisorOne who gives guidance
- wise counselPrudent advisory input
- politicianElected government official
- diplomatOfficial foreign representative
mentor · senator · gerontocracy · sagacity · leader · founding father · grand old man · gray eminence · behind the scenes · ancestral wisdom · consultant · ambassador · foreign policy · legislator · old guard · knowledge transfer · minister · mediation
elder statesmennewcomers
Those recently arrived
novices · neophytes · rookies · greenhorns · beginners
elder statesmenrising stars
Emerging promising talents
young guns · wunderkinder · new generation · up-and-comers · young bucks
elder statesmendemagogues
Politicians manipulating mass emotion
rabble-rousers · firebrands · hotheads · loose cannons · gadflies
elder, elders, eldest, statesmen, statesman, state, states, stated, stating