Technocracy

Etymology

From Greek tékhnē ("skill, craft") plus -kratía ("rule"): "rule by skill." The word was coined around 1919 by the American engineer William Henry Smyth and popularized by a movement that wanted engineers and scientists, not politicians, to run the economy. The utopian movement faded, but the term stuck as a name for expert-led governance.

noun · /tek-NOK-ruh-see/
Government or management by technical experts who make decisions on the basis of specialized knowledge rather than popular vote.
What it names
It captures the modern tension between expertise and democracy — the promise of competent rule set against the worry that experts answer to no one.
Example
The central bank operated as a small technocracy, insulated by design from the pressures of the election cycle.
Related idea
Meritocracy rewards demonstrated ability across society; a technocracy specifically hands governing power to credentialed technical experts. One is a principle of selection, the other a form of rule.