History Main / JusttheFirstCitizen

* A variant occurs in ''Film/{{Downfall}}''. After Eva Braun marries Hitler an officer briefly stumbles over what to call her, since they never bothered to come up with a title for the wife of a Führer. She tells him to just call her ''Frau Hitler''. [[Labelnote:Translation]] Frau is German for "Miss." She's simply taking his surname, as is common in marriages. [[/Labelnote]].

* A variant occurs in ''Film/{{Downfall}}''. After Eva Braun marries Hitler an officer briefly stumbles over what to call her, since they never bothered to come up with a title for the wife of a Führer. She tells him to just call her ''Frau Hitler''. [[Labelnote:Translation]] Frau is German for "Miss." She's simply taking his surname, as is common in marriages. [[/labelnote]].

* A variant occurs in ''Film/{{Downfall}}''. After Eva Braun marries Hitler an officer briefly stumbles over what to call her, since they never bothered to come up with a title for the wife of a Führer. She tells him to just call her ''Frau Hitler''.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'', [[spoiler:Maria Katyusha takes over Russia after killing Josef Stalin and dissolving the Soviet Union. Given that she is a {{super soldier}} with reality warping powers who could very well declare herself any grand title she wants in a [[AGodAmI god-like power trip]], instead she adopts the title of "protector" since she plans to replace communism with anarchy]].

* UsefulNotes/JosefStalin [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zags]] this trope. Despite the almost absolute power Stalin wielded over the Soviet State, his official title was simply, "General Secretary of the Communist Party." His rivals during his rise to power jokingly called him "Comrade Card-Index." In addition, he also allowed himself to be called simply ''Vozhd'' ("chief" or "boss") by his personal staff or others close to him. On the other hand, he ''unofficially'' allowed all kinds of grandiose epithets and decorations to be awarded to him, such as, "Father of Nations," "Generalissimus," "Brilliant Genius of Humanity," "Great Architect of Communism," "Gardener of Human Happiness," and "Coryphaeus of Science."

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* ''ComicBook/XWingSeries'': Two years after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', [[NonActionBigBad Ysanne Isard]] has gained control of the largest Imperial Remnant faction and rules from Emperor Palpatine's palace on [[InsistentTerminology Imperial Center]] (i.e. Coruscant). She never changes her official title away from that of her prior post, Director of Imperial Intelligence.

** UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi, disqualified by his humble birth from becoming ''shogun'' (that position required descent from the Fujiwara clan), had to settle for ruling Japan under the title ''kampaku'' (imperial regent), and later as ''taikō'' (retired regent). These positions would have made him subordinate to the ''shogun'', had one existed at the time; he made damn sure that one didn't for his lifetime.

* TropeNamer: Pericles, the statesman in the Greek city-state of Athens who first established democracy as an effective system of governance, was described as the "First Citizen of Athens" by the contemporary historian Thucydides.

* Heroic example in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', where [[TheChessmaster William Kraft]] is officially merely a state governor, and [[ChessmasterSidekick John Rumford]] merely Quartermaster General on the Army General Staff. Between the two of them, they nevertheless effectively control the whole [[TheRepublic Confederation]].

* Citizen Dawn, from from TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse, is a superhuman supremacist worshiped by her followers as a ''god''. Nonetheless, all superhumans in her faction, including herself, are merely called "citizen."

* QuestionableContent’s Martin unknowingly meets one of the senior research librarians at his workplace - who’s dressed as a janitor and carrying a plunger.

* The first Roman Emperors called themselves simply "The First" (''Princeps'', from which the word ''prince'' is derived, originally from the historical honorary title ''Princeps Senatus'', that is, the person allowed to speak first, which by the late Republic evolved into a post not unlike the modern Speaker position), after the example of [[UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} Augustus]]. The later emperors, while finally acknowledging that the Republic effectively no longer existed, styled themselves by the equally generic ''Dominus'' (master).

* The first Roman Emperors called themselves simply "The First" (''Princeps'', from which the word ''prince'' is derived, originally from the historical honorary title ''Princeps Senatus'', that is, the person allowed to speak first, which by the late Republic evolved into a post not unlike the modern Speaker position), after the example of [[UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} Augustus]].

** Ponder Stibbons, who wields more-or-less absolute power over the University by virtue of being the [[BeleagueredAssistant only one who ever does any work]], doesn't actually have a title ''at all'' - at least not one that explains his power. His power ultimately stems from holding seventeen staff positions simultaneously, each of which has an unimportant title associated with it. This went completely unnoticed until he called attention to it himself to stop a wizard civil war from igniting in an emotionally charged moment, and afterwards the wizards decided something needed to be done to reduce his power... so they asked Ponder to deal with it.

** And shortly thereafter, First Consul UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. He later gave up all pretense and just crowned himself Emperor.

* A variant occurs in ''Film/{{Downfall}}''. After Eva Braun marries Hitler an officer briefly stumbles over what to call her, since they never bothered to come up with a title for the wife of a Fuhrer. She tells him to just call her ''Frau Hitler''.

** The Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien controls everything that happens and can read the minds of intruders into her realm, keeps her people safe from Sauron, and is one of the oldest beings in the world, but is simply called the Lady or the White Lady.
** Elrond, while "mighty among Elves and Men" and fairly powerful, is simply called "Master Elrond". Elves barely have any concept of "rank"; while they attach prestige to lineage, an individual's actual power mostly derives solely from other elves being willing to follow him (though if a given leader doesn't make many mistakes, other Elves will tend to prefer status quo to revolution). Their political model is basically, in anthropological terms, a pre-chiefdom tribal one, like that of the Sioux or Apache. Mind you, the Elves ''do'' have more traditional sophisticated monarchies, and in ages past there were many Elf kingdoms,[[note]]The First Age had more than you can realistically count, while Gil-galad ran a decent-sized kingdom in the Second Age.[[/note]] but in the Third Age the only proper kingdom of Elves remaining in Middle-Earth is that of Thranduil at the northern end of Mirkwood (Legolas' people); the other remaining Elven kingdoms are in Valinor.

** Another name for the pope is ''Pontifex'', builder of bridges; that's a relic of an office of the Roman Republic, whose job was to bless bridges. JuliusCaesar held this title, and later it became attached to the Emperors.

** Another name for the pope is ''Pontifex'', builder of bridges; that's a relic of an office of the Roman Republic, whose job was to bless bridges.

** "Literature/SearchByTheMule":
The Mule rules a volume of space equivalent to one-tenth of the galaxy, accourding to the EncyclopediaExposita prefacing this work. Part of this stemmed from his [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex innate inferiority complex]], as he was aware that no matter how impressively he titled himself, he could never change the fact that he was physically misshapen and comically deformed. Instead, he was content to rule with unchallenged PsychicPowers ensuring [[{{Brainwashed}} perfect loyalty]] from his highest-level minions. [[spoiler:A successor to the title appears in "Literature/SearchByTheFoundation", purely to preserve the illusion that they are as militarily powerful as the Mule.]]