personality cult

British  

noun

1. deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader

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Example Sentences

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov came to power after the death of the eccentric Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006 and established a pervasive personality cult similar to that of his predecessor.

From Seattle Times

The first daughter was further enshrined in the family personality cult Tuesday, when North Korea released eight postage stamps commemorating that November missile launch — five of them featuring the tweenager.

From Washington Post

Propagandists in the 1950s and 1960s used to extensively display Mao Zedong's portraits at rallies and celebrations to whip up a personality cult around him and cultivate loyalty.

From Reuters

White supremacist organizations and armed militias are mobilized for political action, the Republican Party has declared war on multiracial democracy and right-wing voters have become increasingly radical and hostile, falling into the personality cult of Donald Trump and the apocalyptic cult of QAnon.

From Salon

Following the model set by Mao, Mr. Xi “has fostered a personality cult, made himself equal to the party, revised the constitution to secure a lifetime dictatorship and further intensified repression with the rule of coercion and deception.”

From Washington Times