Unofficial advisers to a President or Prime Minister. The term was coined during the first years of Andrew Jackson’s presidency of the USA (1829–37). In his first years of office Jackson’s official cabinet contained many strong but opposed personalities, including his first Vice-President, John Calhoun, and his Secretary for War, John Eaton. Thus while official cabinet meetings were held as seldom as possible Jackson took most of his advice from Van Buren (later his second Vice-President and successor), John Eaton, Amos Kendall, Francis Blair (newspaper editors), and various personal friends appointed as minor government officials. After a cabinet reorganization in 1831 the President relied rather more on members of his official cabinet.