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What do you call an influential connection in an organization or a governmental entity who can help you out of problems related to that organization or even more powerful one who has relations in other related organizations?

In our language, we have two terms! One which is indicative of such a person, and the second which represents a very powerful and influential one.

Example:

  • How got that position Andy?
  • Heh, Dan!
  • You kidding me?!
  • Not at all, (smiling)
  • She must have a connection, because she is definitely unqualified for that job.

Or

I'm not too worried about this charge against me—I have a very powerful connection who can remove my bad record. [in this sense we have a very informal term in our language]

I wonder if you could give me a hand with these two senses.

Thank you.

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I think your word, connection, is a good one. Also see contact and its synonyms/related words like in and insider.

An idiom you can use to describe having powerful connections who can get you something you want or get you out of a bad situation is friends in high places. The two example sentences here are very similar to the situations you describe:

She must have friends in high places because she is definitely unqualified for that job.

I'm not too worried about this charge against me—I have friends in high places.

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  • Yes @Mixolydian. I know this idiom. But as you see it alludes to a group of people rather than one single person. So I guess "connection" works better in this sense.
    – A-friend
    May 22, 2019 at 14:02
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    @A-friend yes, it is a plural noun phrase, but in actuality it can refer to one or more people - "friends in high places" has a kind of vague and mysterious connotation - when you say this it is unclear who exactly you know or how many such connections you have. This is similar to (for example) "I know people who could help us out" - there could really be just one person or many people. Or "I've got an inside connection" - in this context connection could refer to one person, or more abstractly, to several people or something like "ability to get what I want".
    – Mixolydian
    May 22, 2019 at 14:16

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