History Main / Cincinnatus

* It didn't work out any better for Germany when they elected their own WWI hero, Paul von Hindenburg, to the then very powerful office of President. He did an all right job but got drawn into party policies after the extremists blocked the parliament. He also wasn't particularly fond of participating in a democracy[[note]]He was a monarchist, but did not try to re-introduce the monarchy, as he felt bound by his oath on the constitution.[[/note]] and wanted to retire after his term was over.[[note]]He was [[strike:begged]] convinced to run for a second term by an array of all parties except Nazis and communists, i.e. from the socialists to the monarchists, in order to prevent a certain UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler from being elected president.[[/note]] The former led to him being manipulated (by the even less competent Franz von Papen) into appointing UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler as Chancellor,[[note]]He was made to believe that the setup of ministers [[WhatAnIdiot would prevent Hitler from taking over.]][[/note]] the latter to Hitler being able to seize total power by combining the offices of President and Chancellor into that of "Führer" when Hindenburg died.

* UsefulNotes/ThePresidents of the United States of America:

* The [[EmergencyAuthority Galactic Custodian]] from VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}, elected to protect all life in the galaxy from a class X-3 ApocalypseHow, is granted great but temporary powers in the [[FictionalUnitedNations Galactic Community]]. Such a custodian can attemt to hold onto the great powers granted to them for extended periods of time, attempt to reform the Galactic Community into a Galactic Imperium, peacefully turn in their title at the end of their term... Or vote to end their term early if the ApocalypseHow is defeated before the end of their mandate. Doing this even grants the player the Modern Cincinnatus [[AchievementSystem Achievement]].

* UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell [[CreatorProvincialism pulled this more than a hundred years before any American]] during the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar. He also refused to become king after leading the Parliamentarians to victory (and the execution of King Charles I) and being outright offered the crown. Much like (and likely more so than) Washington, it's uncertain how much of his borderline-saintly reputation is historical fact and how much was propaganda. He subverted this trope in his last years ruling the Commonwealth of England (the nominally republican regime that ruled the British Isles) as its "Lord Protector" (read: king in all but name) until his death. That being said, Cromwell seems to have been genuinely conflicted about this and hoped to establish a real republic; it's just that the various political factions in England were constantly at odds and basically could never agree on anything except that they liked Cromwell.

** Also done by Ned's ancestor Lord Cregan Stark, who was the Hand for a days more then a century before the series began. At the end of the Targaryen civil war known as "The Dance of the Dragons" Cregan arrived in King's Landing just after Aegon II had been poisoned, meaning the throne passed to their nephew Aegon III, son of the claimant Cregan had been supporting. Cregan was named Hand by Aegon III and responded by punishing those responsible for Aegon II's death, feeling a King's murder must be punished even if it was a tyrant he was fighting against. Cregan's actions enabled a relatively stable reign for Aegon III, though the day after finishing the trials Cregan resigned the Handship and returned to the North, having been granted many rewards, and in exchange for pardoning Lord Corlys Velaryon he married Alysanne Blackwood.

* Lord Gekkei from ''LightNovel/TheTwelveKingdoms'' leads the revolts against the KnightTemplar King of Hou, but doesn't take over as temporary ruler until the ''kirin'' of Hou is reborn and then able to choose a new king. The noblemen have to insist a ''lot'' to convince him to start re-organizing the ravished lands as de-facto ruler.

Compare TheLastDJ (the character has the same integrity but often far less power or freedom) and AbdicateTheThrone (giving up power you're born into). Contrast RegentForLife, UnfitForGreatness. See also IWillFightNoMoreForever.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', [[FutureBadass Ben 10,000]] (an alternate one, different from the one shown in the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 Original Series]]) mentions that he was President of Earth just long enough to [[NoodleIncident defeat the third Vilgaxian Invasion]]. Gwen was more skilled at the day-to-day duties, and is supposedly a shoo-in for a second term

** President UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk lived before the two-term limit was imposed, but he didn't run for a second term in 1848, saying that there was no need as he'd already accomplished everything he wanted to in his first term (so much the better; he died three months after leaving office). UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes also declined to run for a second term in 1880, keeping a promise he'd made shortly after being elected in highly suspicious circumstances (he won by ''one'' electoral vote, with three states' electoral vote allocations being heavily disputed, and had lost the popular vote[[note]]That said, his opposition engaged in voter suppression (including the likes of TheKlan) and the ''federal Army'' had to ensure that e.g. African Americans could exercise their right to vote (and in many places the Army could ''not'' ensure this as their forces were spread too thin. Suffice to say, this election left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Americans for decades to come - and it happened in the year of the centennial of independence[[/note]]). UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge also declined to run again in 1928 despite having served for just under six years as President (similarly to Johnson, except that Coolidge had no term limits). All other one-term presidents (besides those who died in their first term) ran for a second term and either lost the election or were passed over by their party.

** President UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk lived before the two-term limit was imposed, but he didn't run for a second term in 1848, saying that there was no need as he'd already accomplished everything he wanted to in his first term (so much the better; he died three months after leaving office). UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes also declined to run for a second term in 1880, keeping a promise he'd made shortly after being elected in highly suspicious circumstances (he won by ''one'' electoral vote, with three states' electoral vote allocations being heavily disputed, and had lost the popular vote). UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge also declined to run again in 1928 despite having served for just under six years as President (similarly to Johnson, except that Coolidge had no term limits). All other one-term presidents (besides those who died in their first term) ran for a second term and either lost the election or were passed over by their party.

Compare TheLastDJ (the character has the same integrity but often far less power or freedom) and AbdicateTheThrone (giving up power you're born into). Contrast RegentForLife, UnfitForGreatness.

*** Not that he exactly retired to the simple life of a humble farmer. The "home" he had built for his retirement was a massive palace-fortress on the shores of the Adriatic, within walking distance of Salona - one of the largest cities in the empire. As much for his own safety as for his comfort, no doubt - despite being a "retired" emperor, the risk of assassination would still have been high. His "garden" would have been located within its walls.

*** Not to give the impression that he retired to the simple life of a humble farmer. The "home" he had built for his retirement was a massive palace-fortress on the shores of the Adriatic, within walking distance of Salona - one of the largest cities in the empire. As much for his own safety as for his comfort, no doubt - despite being a "retired" emperor, the risk of assassination would still have been high. His "garden" would have been located within its walls.

*** Not to give the impression that he retired to the simple life of a humble farmer. The "retirement home" he had built was a massive palace-fortress on the shores of the Adriatic, within walking distance of Salona - one of the largest cities in the empire. As much for his own safety as for his comfort, no doubt. Despite being a "retired" emperor, the risk of assassination would still have been high. His "garden" would have been located within its walls.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tecumseh_Sherman General William T. Sherman]] was a successful Union general during the American Civil War. After Sherman took Atlanta, he became the Union's new darling and the sentiment led to an offer to promote him to the same rank as General Grant. He replied with, "I will accept no commission that would tend to create a rivalry with Grant. I want him to hold what he has earned and got. I have all the rank I want."After retiring from the military, he was approached about the possibility of seeking the presidency, to which he replied, "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." To this day, a categorical and absolute refusal to seek a certain office is referred to as a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shermanesque_statement Shermanesque statement]]".

->''"[[OurFounder Kahless]] said: 'Great men do not seek power, they have power thrust upon them.'"''

*** Not to give the impression that he retired to the simple life of a humble farmer. His "retirement home" was a massive palace-fortress on the shores of the Adriatic, within walking distance of Salona - one of the largest cities in the empire. His "garden" would have been located within its walls.

*** Not to give the impression that he retired to the simple of a humble farmer. His "retirement home" was a massive palace-fortress on the shores of the Adriatic, within walking distance of Salona - one of the largest cities in the empire. His "garden" would have been located within its walls.

*** Not to give the impression that he retired to the simple of a humble farmer. His "retirement home" was a massive palace-fortress on the shores of the Adriatic, forming the nucleus of one of the largest cities in the empire. His "garden" would have been located within its walls.

* Militia leader John Rumford in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', who is a farmer primarily and TheHero only while he is needed. Even invoked in-story.

** Exploited by Augustus, who made sure to abstain from all the flashy titles, while keeping the less impressive-sounding ones (and all the power that came with them). For most of the time, Augustus's strategy was to get the Roman Senate to grant him new titles such as ''tribunicia potestas'', since he was governor of lots of frontier provinces and therefore [[MillionMookMarch loads and loads of legions]], since most of the Roman Army was in the outer provinces. One of the ways he ensured his power was to use his legions to threaten the Senate to give him governorship of even more provinces, so that he'd get control of [[UpToEleven even more legions]].

** Scipio Africanus. While he never actually had absolute power, it is arguable that he could have—he was a four-star badass who actually defeated Hannibal, thus gaining more prestige then any Roman had ever had. Instead of attempting to take power, he retired to his villa to get away from the {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s of the Senate.

* ThePresidents of the United States of America:

** It's also interesting to note that the cult of personality around Atatürk didn't really manifest until ''after'' his death. He certainly wanted to be admired and for Turkey to follow his example, but there's no indication that he wanted the quasi-religious level of worship that Kemalism has turned into. On the other hand, when Atatürk made a law requiring every Turk to get a Western style surname, he could not resist the temptation of taking "Atatürk" -- father of all Turks. Turkish surnames are mostly immodest, though "Özdemir" for example means "pure iron".

** Named for Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a legendary Roman general, who, sometime after he retired to his farm, was given total power in Rome to fight off an invasion. Cincinnatus' status as a ''dictator'' afforded him six months of total power over Rome by Roman law. His fame comes from the fact that he repulsed the invasion and conquered the invaders in ''sixteen days'', then handed power right back to Rome even though he was legally entitled to continue ruling for the rest of his "term" as ''dictator''. The city of Cincinnati in the USA's state of Ohio is partly named for him, and then there's the Society of the Cincinnati (see below). A year later, Cincinnatus was appointed dictator for a second time, due to an alleged plot by Spurius Maelius to seize power and name himself king. This term was even shorter, as Maelius refused to answer a summons from Cincinnatus to defend himself against the allegations, and was killed by Roman soldiers. Cincinnatus immediately resigned and went back to his farm.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', [[MyFutureSelfAndMe Ben 10,000]] (an alternate one, different from the one shown in the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 Original Series]]) mentions that he was President of Earth just long enough to [[NoodleIncident defeat the third Vilgaxian Invasion]]. Gwen was more skilled at the day-to-day duties, and is supposedly a shoo-in for a second term