cult of personality

American  

noun

1. a cult promoting adulation of a living national leader or public figure, as one encouraged by Stalin to extend his power.

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Etymology

Origin of cult of personality

Probably earlier than 1965–70; translation of Russian kulʾt líchnosti

Example Sentences

Jobs is a “cult of personality,” and people collect items tied to the tech mogul.

From Los Angeles Times

The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called "Paektu bloodline" dominates daily life in the isolated country.

From Barron's

It’s nice to be the figurehead in the cult of personality, but these are truly the best people in the business.

From Los Angeles Times

Perhaps the lone exception in Eastern Europe was Romania, where Nicolae Ceaușescu — who had broken with Moscow years earlier — maintained a rigid dictatorship and cult of personality up until he faced a firing squad.

From Salon

Such utopian — and even messianic — ideologies typically contain a “pseudoreligious quality” that elicit an unwavering passion among their followers, even a cult of personality.

From Salon