Ryan had aligned himself with Cantor and the self-proclaimed Young Guns, who made life miserable for Boehner, their nominal leader.

NEWYORKER: Fussbudget

"The Pakistani army should come down hard on anyone who is playing in the hands of foreign powers, including Baitullah Mehsud, " the nominal leader of the Pakistan Taliban.

WSJ: Pakistan Looks at Swat and Sees India

But he emerged again as a powerful figure - some say nominal leader - of the powerful Northern Alliance, formed mainly from minority Tajiks and Uzbeks, that opposed Taliban rule.

BBC: Obituary: Burhanuddin Rabbani

She quite vocally relays her opinion of Allen's every move, even suggesting at one point that he needs to start conversing with everybody in the band, not just the nominal leader, banjo player Eddy Davis.

CNN: Review: Neuroses with a beat in 'Wild Man Blues'

In Pakistan, for instance, he describes how the inclusive secular nationalism of the country's first leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (a nominal Shia) gave way to Sunni majoritarianism promoted by Shia-averse Saudi Arabia.

ECONOMIST: Shia Muslims