From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishself-proclaimedˌself-proˈclaimed adjective THINK/HAVE THE OPINION THAThaving given yourself a position or title without the approval or agreement of other people – used to show disapproval a self-proclaimed champion of the working class
Examples from the Corpus
self-proclaimed• He is the self-proclaimed champion of the huge and virtuous middle class, to which everyone but Bill Gates belongs.• So many people are self-proclaimed environmentalists that it doesn't mean much anymore.• Thus far, though, the undisputed king of chat is the self-proclaimed King of Pop, Michael Jackson.• Yet no one who knew the man disputes that Robey might well have knocked down the self-proclaimed king of rock & roll.• He is the self-proclaimed outsider who knows Washington; the former secretary of education who proposes to abolish the department.• From his self-proclaimed position as guardian of the rightwing flock, he has become a sacrificial lamb.• He held talks with governments and leaders of self-proclaimed republics and with opposition leaders. 