Figurehead
Person with high office or title but no actual power
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Related on Lably
Through De facto and de jure, Head of state and One-party state
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.
In one-party communist states, the role of the head of state is sometimes 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. 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 he was politically outmaneuvered by Deng Xiaoping.