History Main / Cincinnatus

The TropeNamer is Roman general [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus]], who led Rome as a ''dictator'' against an invasion. At the time, a "dictator" was simply a military leader given control over the country during war times, who was expected to return power to the monarchy afterwards, as Cincinnatus had famously done. It was only with Sulla, after the office had not been used for over a hundred years, that a Roman official attempted to abuse the dictatorship for his own gain, leading the word to gain a decidedly negative connotation. Even Sulla, while abusing his dictatorial power in many ways and having arranged to not have a time limit on his dictatorship, still stepped down after a year. The first ''successful'' attempt to defy this tradition came without the actual ([[JustTheFirstCitizen specific]]) title of dictator, and resulted in the creation of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire.

There is an emergency, threatening the entire kingdom. Even the king admits he is not capable of dealing with it, so he finds his wisest and most able knight and grants that knight total power.

Why? Because the king knows this knight is a man of honor and also loves his family more than he loves power. He will use this power only for when it is needed, and no longer. And he's right. Once the kingdom is saved, that knight abdicates his power and goes home to his family.

It's TruthInTelevision: not only did it happen with [[TropeNamers Cincinnatus]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus the knight described above,]] but all succeeding Roman ''dictators'' ("he who dictates [orders]") also willingly gave up power before or at the end of the prescribed six months, up to and throughout the Punic Wars. It is only with Sulla, after the office had not been used for over a hundred years, that any Roman attempted to abuse the dictatorship. Even Sulla, while abusing his dictatorial power in many ways and having arranged to not have a time limit on his dictatorship, still stepped down after a year. The first ''successful'' attempt to defy this tradition came without the actual ([[JustTheFirstCitizen specific]]) title of dictator, and resulted in the creation of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire.

Compare TheLastDJ (the character has the same integrity but often far less power or freedom) and AbdicateTheThrone (giving up power you're born into). Also compare TheCreon, who will do anything to avoid being in charge. Contrast RegentForLife, UnfitForGreatness. See also IWillFightNoMoreForever.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Lelouch vi Britannia from ''Anime/CodeGeass'', in a way. Soon after he [[spoiler:[[TakeOverTheWorld conquered the entire world]], he organized his own SuicideByCop and gracefully left the scene]]. While he was on it, he also ensured that nobody would ever be able to do what he did, which is a good thing if you think about it. Of course, in this case, only a few people on Earth knew his real intentions, while the rest saw him as just another DiabolicalMastermind.
* Lord Gekkei from ''Literature/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.
* Rygart Arrow of ''Broken Blade'' can be considered this in a bizarre manner as when the Kingdom of Krisna is under impending invasion from the Athens Commonwealth, circumstances require Rygart to be summoned to the capital under King Hodr's orders.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}. He's the single most powerful man on Earth, and in various alternate universes (and on ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'') the writers have shown that he could take over the world... if he ''wanted'' to. However, Superman, being raised as an idealist by the Kents, believes in using his powers to help the little guy. On multiple occasions, ComicBook/LexLuthor and ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} [[EvilCannotComprehendGood have both expressed a complete inability to understand this ideal]], as Lex is egomaniacal and power-hungry, while Darkseid is the [[GodOfEvil god of tyranny]]. Superman's decision to use his powers to help others and his refusal to seize power is the reason why the Justice League members pretty universally consider Clark to be someone they can all believe in, and the reason why most citizens of the DCU Earth consider Superman to be their world's greatest hero.

** In the novelization of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', "Cinncinatus" is the title of the chapter when Wonder Woman flies to the Fortress of Solitude and convinces Superman to come out of retirement.

* ''Fanfic/SupremeChancellorObiWanKenobi'': Obi-Wan is thrust into the position by a senator who is exhausted with the now ten year long Clone Wars and finally says enough is enough, and knows from their past experience with Obi-Wan that he is perfect for the role because he loathes the politics but is up to the duty. HilarityEnsues as Obi-Wan struggles with a job he detests but lives up to.
* The ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''/''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'' crossover [[http://www.paladar.com/fanware/room13/brand70.htm "Lost and Found"]] sees the returned Canard basically speculate that he was a version of this for Wildwing, taking on the role of leader and assembling the strike team to attack Draganus so that Wildwing could become their true leader. Wildwing initially protests that Canard is the real team captain, but Canard counters that he was only in charge back on Puckworld due to his military experience, whereas Wildwing has assembled the other Ducks into a genuine family even when he doesn't have any actual command structure or authority to make them follow his orders but has still earned their respect.
* "[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2893059 The Savior Fables]]" see Emma Swan (''Series/OnceUponATime'') learn that, as the new adopted guardian of Literature/HarryPotter, she must also act as regent for the three noble houses that Harry is heir to; specifically, the Houses of Potter, Slytherin and Peverell. Fortunately, she has the aid of the Scamander brothers and Goldstein sisters (still alive and young thanks to a gift of the Elixir of Life from the Flamels) to understand her full duties (as well as learning that she also has magic), and all parties are agreed that she will pass on her duties to Harry as he gets old enough to deal with them.

* Maximus in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''. After long years of slogging through the north, conquering for Rome, he just wanted to go home to his family and farm, even when he realized he was being offered total power in Rome. That, Aurelius said, was why it had to be him to steward the Empire until it could be a Republic again.
* Discussed in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', where Harvey Dent explicitly compares Batman to the Roman elected dictators and instantly gets called out by Rachel, who says that such a system eventually led to powerful men appointing ''themselves'' dictators and eventually Julius Caesar and the death of anything resembling representative government in Rome. Later in the movie [[spoiler:Batman hands the power to tap into peoples' cell phones to Lucius Fox, knowing that his objections to the methodology would mean that it was ONLY used in a dire emergency. Sure enough, after the Joker is apprehended, Fox types his name into the computer that did the spying, just like Bruce told him to, and the whole thing self-destructs.]]
* In ''Animation/CatCity'', Grabovsky, the [[Film/JamesBond Bond]]-Mouse was called back from retirement like Cincinnatus. The evil cat boss, spying on the meeting of mice leaders, heard the reference and thought that Cincinnatus was a new secret agent (in Hungarian, "Cincin" is the onomatopoeia for the sound mice make), so he sent his assistant, Safranek, to look him up. This led to Safranek being tortured, as he unwisely told his boss that Cincinnatus was a historical figure, which is common knowledge.

** This was part of [[ManipulativeBastard Senator Palpatine's]] plan to ascend to full on EvilOverlord status. By manufacturing a conflict around Naboo and stymieing Chancellor Valorum's ability to do anything about it, he was able to push Queen Amidala into the no-confidence vote that put him, as the most capable emergency ruler, into the top spot. Around this time (it's unclear whether it was before or after the Naboo blockade) he arranged for the creation of a Grand Army and simultaneously used the fallout from the failed blockade to stir Separatist agendas. Pushing both of these together resulted in the Clone Wars, a galactic incident which required continued stable and capable leadership. Having upheld this trope to the Senate, emergency powers were granted, until eventually he was able to wipe out the one threat to his rule, the Jedi Order. Then came TheEmpire, and STILL he was treated as this trope!

* Loki in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' manages to be an ''evil'' version of this trope (though if anyone could make one of the most inherently noble tropes evil...). While at first it looks like he's aiming to be RegentForLife, his entire plan only fully formulates after he's been handed power on a plate -- secretly ''create'' a crisis by making a deal with the enemies of Asgard, avert said crisis in a highly visible fashion by backstabbing said enemies and eliminating their entire planet, and then gracefully step down again with a new reputation as a devoted son and a hero of the realm when his father awakes. [[spoiler:He gets a fall through a black hole and the subsequent destruction of his already fragile sanity in return for his trouble, leading to his return in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' as a newly minted, glassy-eyed [[TakeOverTheWorld world conqueror]].]]
** Which would not be the last time the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse had an evil Cincinnatus. Thanos's goal in Film/AvengersInfinityWar is to collect all six infinity stones and use them to eliminate half of all life. He claims that when he's done this he'll rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. [[spoiler:He succeeds and keeps to his word. In the next film he's shown to retired on a ParadisePlanet and has destroyed the infinity stones. The Avengers are shocked he isn't out trying to rebuild his forces or conquer more worlds]].
* Despite being a violent idiot [[CrapsackWorld like pretty much everybody else]], President Camacho from ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'' willingly steps aside and lets Joe “Not Sure” Bauers take over after he solved the famine crisis that plagued the nation.

* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' series, Aral Vorkosigan was appointed regent for the child emperor, and a lot of people expected him to appoint himself emperor at some point. Instead, he ceded power to the emperor when he came of age and even donated a small fortune out of his own pocket to charity, so he'd leave the position of regent with the same level as wealth as he had when he was appointed. He did subsequently become Prime Minister rather than just going home, but not to keep power, only in order to have something to do (because retirement and Aral Vorkosigan Do Not Mix).
* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels, the WorthyOpponent Admiral Theisman overthrows the tyrannical government and kills the dictator as soon as he gets a chance, effectively giving himself absolute power. The admiral then ensures that elections are held and eventually joins the new government as Secretary of War. He's also Chief of Naval Operations. He's noble, not an idiot. Being both the civilian and military head of the Navy means he can make sure there isn't another coup. At the same time, the new president's political opponents know of Theisman's preference for the rule of law and know that he would never act against them in an illegal manner.
* InvokedTrope in ''Literature/WarAndPeace'', in that the Russian emperor Alexander ''did not want'' Kutuzov to become Field Marshal during Napoleon's invasion, and many aristocrats in his court maneuvered behind Kutuzov's back to have him ousted after the danger was past. Kutuzov just liked to read novels though.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' this can be how the position of Hand of the King operates: the king technically retains his authority, but for practical purposes it's given to the Hand. This was why Robert Baratheon made Ned Stark his Hand, because he himself is a terrible ruler, and Ned definitely fits the [[HonorBeforeReason honorable criteria]]. Lord Tywin Lannister also effectively ran the kingdom for years, while the actual king indulged his madness and things only truly went to shit after Aerys fired Tywin, though he's not particularly honorable. The commoners have an appropriate saying in-universe about this: ''The king shits, and the Hand wipes.''
** Also done by Ned's ancestor Lord Cregan Stark, who was the Hand for a days more than 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.
* In ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'', rather than being a King, [[Myth/KingArthur Arthur]] is a warlord sworn to safeguard the realm and the throne until his nephew Mordred comes of age and becomes King. Arthur is just fine with this, since he [[IJustWantToBeNormal just wants to live a normal life]] and is happy to step aside. [[spoiler:The series takes a dark route with this. Although most of the world's misery is caused by the overly ambitious types like Cerdic, Sansum, Lancelot, and multiple other kings and princes, the fact that Arthur never takes the throne for himself (even after seeing how AxCrazy Mordred is) undoes all of his efforts]].
* These people are called Ubars on Literature/{{Gor}}. Because of the extreme Gorean devotion to their honor codes, Ubars almost always step down and those who fail to do so are usually killed by the army. With one exception: Marlenus of Ar, who was loved by his army and people and remained Ubar perpetually.
* In the Creator/TomClancy books, Literature/JackRyan is appointed Vice President, and soon after becomes President after Durling and most of the Congress are assassinated. He served out the remainder of Durling's term [[note]]who, in turn, was serving out Fowler's, after he resigned between ''Debt of Honor'' and ''Executive Orders''[[/note]] and was then reelected to a full term of his own. Halfway through his term, though, he resigned. Both to allow his best friend, Robby Jackson, to become the nation's first black President, and because he's accomplished all he wanted to do in office and wants to retire. After Jackson's own assassination, Ryan is approached about running again but he declines, both for the same reasons that he left office in the first place and because he's been honestly heartbroken at his best friend's death and can't bring himself to go back to the position that was indirectly responsible. In ''Locked On'', he runs again for President, disgusted with the way Ed Kealty had been running the country. [[spoiler:And ultimately wins by a narrow margin, in spite of some DirtyPool by his opponent.]]

* George Powhatan in Creator/DavidBrin's ''Literature/ThePostman''. After defending his own territory from the violent, survivalist Holnists, all he wants to do is live as a country squire, growing his own crops and making his own beer. Later, protagonist Gordon thinks he pities anyone who would try to make Powhatan a king.
* In Creator/MichaelFlynn's Literature/SpiralArm novel ''On the Razor's Edge'', two characters argue about giving up power. One cites Cincinnatus, UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, and [[FamousFamousFictional two fictional future characters]], and then adds that others might be unable because they had done it.
* Dumbledore in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. It is stated that Dumbledore was offered the post of Minister for Magic multiple times but refused it, preferring to remain the headmaster at Hogwarts. Only in the final book is it fully understood why: [[spoiler:in his youth, Dumbledore was tempted into joining Gellert Grindelwald's quest to take over the world and find the Deathly Hallows. Afterward, Dumbledore realised that he could not be trusted with power.]]
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''

* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Zaphod Beeblebrox notes that the President of the Galactic Empire election apparently involved scanning his brains for any actual desire to hold the position - or, at least, any desire to take it ''seriously'' - and if found, would have dropped him on the curb with only the clothes on his back and two stumps where his heads used to be. The purpose of the Galactic President is to ''distract'' people from the question of who ''actually'' runs the Galaxy, since obviously, anyone who ''wants'' to shouldn't be allowed to. [[spoiler:It turns out to be the Man in the Shack, who is unlikely to go mad with power, since he doesn't entirely believe the Galaxy ''exists''.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In the new canon continuity the New Republic granted to Mon Mothma the same [[EmergencyAuthority emergency powers]] that Palpatine had claimed as Chancellor of the Galactic Republic before transforming it into the [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]]. She makes it clear she has no intention of retaining those powers and once the war is over taking the Republic off a wartime footing by among other things drastically reducing the size of the military.

* The page quote comes from Worf in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', who, after killing Chancellor Gowron (who had been misusing his power and throwing away the war effort for his own political gain) in a death duel, had become Chancellor [[KlingonPromotion through right of combat]]. As the other Klingons in the room start to hail Worf as the new Chancellor, Worf stops them and immediately abdicates power to General Martok, who he saw as the best military leader.
* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Doctor ran away from the position of President of Gallifrey at least twice. Of course, the life to which he was returning wasn't exactly peaceful, but he preferred WalkingTheEarth... Er, universe. [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Mostly Earth.]]
** In ''Death in Heaven'', it's revealed that in the event of a worldwide invasion, one person may be elected as President of Earth by the UN and all the world's armed forces. Three guess who all the nations choose, and the first two don't count. Obviously, the Doctor doesn't like being President of Earth any more than he liked being President of Galifrey, and wants to get rid of the responsibility ASAP. However, he'll still take advantage of the position in order to get {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s to do what he wants. And to ride the CoolPlane.
** In a non-political example, the Doctor's status as a time-traveller and occasional {{Chessmaster}} means that he could easily get the timeline to do what he wants, and manipulate people and even planets long-term. However, he firmly believes that WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility, and his companions provide helpful {{Morality Chain}}s to stop him from believing that AGodAmI. On the very rare occasions that he slips up...well, it's ''really'' not good.

* In ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', Dylan finally manages to re-create the [[TheFederation Commonwealth]] (although ''much'' smaller than the original one, which spanned three galaxies). The representatives of the various member worlds immediately try to get him to run for a Triumvir position (which wouldn't leave him as a sole ruler, but, still, his popularity is at all-time high). Dylan refuses, saying he never wanted to be anything more than a High Guardsman. He later ends up regretting his decision, when the new leaders start making stupid decisions, and other characters point out several times that he had his chance to make sure things would go right this time and gave it up.
** Even earlier, when he finds a space station full of Nova bombs, capable of making stars explode, Tyr points out that Dylan could have his Commonwealth back... today. Dylan immediately rejects the idea, pointing out it would be nothing more than a dictatorship held in check only through fear.

[[folder:Theater]]
* George Washington is a principal character in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}''. The song "One Last Time" centers around his decision to not seek a third term of office: he would beat any other candidate easily, so stepping down allowed the process to go forward fairly and demonstrate that the nation was strong enough to survive without him personally leading it. The song closes with lines from Washington's actual Farewell Address.

* ''[[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Dynasty Warriors 6]]'' portrayed the Wei leader Cao Cao this way in his, Dian Wei's, and Xiahou Dun's endings. Feeling that the newly-unified Chinese nation did not need a bloodstained conqueror as its leader, Cao Cao abdicated to go off on a journey, leaving administration and governance of the land to specifically-trusted advisors.
** Koei seem to like this trope, in fact; before that, they pulled something similar in the spin-off series ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', in the PSP port of the first game to be precise, where at the end of Oda Nobunaga's 'good' storyline, he vanishes without a trace along with his wife, leaving instructions that his top generals are to divide the land up equally between them (and that his by-then-former manservant was to kill them if they ever came to blows); in his monologue to his wife afterwards where he explains his reasoning, he explicitly states that "the people don't need a king; what they need are options".

* The quarian ship Captains and fleet Admiralty in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' franchise exist to be this. The Migrant Fleet technically exists under a state of emergency martial law (as it has been for centuries) but in practice most decisions are handled by an elected civilian council, both on the level of individual ships and on the level of entire sectors of the fleet in a federal-type government known as the Conclave. However, the Admiralty can invoke a deliberate override of anything the Conclave chooses as an exercise of emergency powers, but are required to resign from their positions immediately after the emergency has passed, or face arrest and prosecution if they refuse to do so. This helps keep the otherwise unrestricted exercise of power in check. So far, the Admiralty override has only been invoked four times in the three centuries of the fleet's existence.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' has Ike. All of the forces gathered would only follow him because of his straightforward, incorruptible, noble nature, so he reluctantly accepts the title of Lord. As soon as King Ashnard is defeated, he gives up the title and goes back to being the leader of his humble mercenary company.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', some of Byleth's paired endings on the Crimson Flower route see them retire from their position as Adrestia's toughest general to a simpler life after the conflict ends.
* 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]].
* ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'': Orion Pax takes command of the scattered Autobot forces following the apparent death of Zeta Prime, becoming Optimus Prime. One ForeverWar later, and in the finale of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' he's finally able to turn over stewardship of Cybertron to a interim council (until proper elections can be held) and simply be Orion Pax again.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The Mayor of the planet Jean in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' is a variation on the second half of this trope: while she was comfortable in her position of power, the situation the planet underwent was too fast and drastic for her to adapt; feeling this meant she was no longer capable of ably leading the planetary government, she made the decision to pass on her authority to her assistant.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', when [[TheWisePrince Gerard]] comes of age, his advisor [[WanderingMinstrel Leon]] willingly abdicates the throne of Maar Sul to him. However, some people, most notably [[spoiler:[[TheEvilPrince Geraden]]]], see Leon as an usurper who only abdicated the throne in order to control the throne from behind the scenes.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' had the "Heart of Earth" aka [[spoiler:Lillian]] appoint three "Regents of Earth": [[spoiler:Matt, Mr. Huggles, and Napoleon the cat]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "Gauntlet of Fire", Spike manages to successfully win the title of Dragon Lord, making him one of the most politically powerful characters in the show. He uses this ultimate authority to give all of one (relatively unimportant) order [[note]]that being to order a dragon who has often bullied him to go back home, and give a hug to every dragon he meets on the way[[/note]] before abdicating and passing the title over to the previous Dragon Lord's daughter, who he had befriended. In fact, he initially showed up to the event to ''ask permission to leave'' because participation was mandatory, only deciding to stay upon realizing that a jerk could gain with the position and the power it confers if he didn't at least try to participate.

* According to WordOfGod, in the backstory of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Autobot leader Optimus Prime became a space explorer after the war ended.

* 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 would prevent Hitler from taking over.[[/note]], and the latter led to Hitler being able to seize total power by combining the offices of President and Chancellor into that of "Führer" when Hindenburg died.

* 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 would prevent Hitler from taking over.[[/note]] the latter led to Hitler being able to seize total power by combining the offices of President and Chancellor into that of "Führer" when Hindenburg died.

* Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (lit. "Father of Turks") was an officer in the Turkish military who parlayed his victories against Allied forces (especially at Gallipoli) and during the course of Turkey's post-war border clashes with The Etente (chiefly France, but also Britain) and her somewhat ruthless no-holds-barred war with Greece (which involved cheery ethnic cleansing like that seen in Smyrna) he became Turkey's Generalissimo. After the wars were concluded he made the country semi-democratic, making himself the first Prime Minister and first Speaker of Parliament - but he gave up those titles in just a few years. Though he remained President (a ceremonial role) for the rest of his life, his role in politics limited to a sort of 'oversight' function (to root out unconstitutional or corrupt politicians) that the Turkish Military continues to oversee to this day in the spirit of 'Kemalism'. The military has executed five coups to this end (1960, '71, '81,'97, and the failed 2016 coup), but they've always handed all power back to democratically-elected representatives within a few years and the idea of the military actually running the country would be unthinkable. Turkish votes very nearly made Atatürk the "Man of the Century" in a [[http://www.time.com/time/time100/time100poll.html Time poll]] for the same title.

** UsefulNotes/PompeyTheGreat: to deal with the deadly threat of piracy in the Mediterranean he was given powers arguably ''greater'' than those of a ''dictator'' (absolute control over the sea and inland to up to fifty miles-thus including Rome itself and most of their lands), ability to draw as much as he wanted for the treasury of Rome and its allies, twenty four lieutenants, and an ''initial'' force of 500 ships, 120,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry with ability to raise more, for a period of three years. Plus, of course, impunity for anything he did during the job). In 89 days most pirates were dead or had surrendered ''and'' had forced Armenia (whose king Tigranes the Great had been supporting the pirates) into submitting to Rome, and then dutifully remitted his powers to the Senate.

* Discussed in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', where Harvey Dent explicitly compares Batman to the Roman elected dictators and instantly gets called out by Rachel, who says that such a system eventually led to powerful men appointing ''themselves'' dictators and eventually Julius Caesar and the death of anything resembling representative government in Rome. Later in the movie [[spoiler:Batman hands the power to tap into peoples' cell phones to Lucius Fox, knowing that his objections to the methodology would mean that it was ONLY used in a dire emergency. Sure enough, after the Joker is apprehended, Fox types his name into the computer that did the spying, just like Bruce told him to, and the whole thing self-destructs.]

* The ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''/''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'' crossover "[[http://www.paladar.com/fanware/room13/brand70.htm Lost and Found]]" sees the returned Canard basically speculate that he was a version of this for Wildwing, taking on the role of leader and assembling the strike team to attack Draganus so that Wildwing could become their true leader. Wildwing initially protests that Canard is the real team captain, but Canard counters that he was only in charge back on Puckworld due to his military experience, whereas Wildwing has assembled the other Ducks into a genuine family even when he doesn't have any actual command structure or authority to make them follow his orders but has still earned their respect.

* Discussed in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', where Harvey Dent explicitly compares Batman to the Roman elected dictators and instantly gets called out by Rachel, who says that such a system eventually led to powerful men appointing ''themselves'' dictators and eventually Julius Caesar and the death of anything resembling representative government in Rome. Later in the movie [[spoiler: Batman hands the power to tap into peoples' cell phones to Lucius Fox, knowing that his objections to the methodology would mean that it was ONLY used in dire emergencies.]]

** Which would not be the last time the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse had an evil Cincinnatus. Thanos's goal in Film/AvengersInfinityWar is to collect all six infinity stones and use them to eliminate half of all life. He claims that when he's done this he'll rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. [[spoiler: He succeeds and keeps to his word. In the next film he's shown to retired on a ParadisePlanet and has destroyed the infinity stones. The Avengers are shocked he isn't out trying to rebuild his forces or conquer more worlds]].

* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Zaphod Beeblebrox notes that the President of the Galactic Empire election apparently involved scanning his brains for any actual desire to hold the position - or, at least, any desire to take it ''seriously'' - and if found, would have dropped him on the curb with only the clothes on his back and two stumps where his heads used to be. The purpose of the Galactic President is to ''distract'' people from the question of who ''actually'' runs the Galaxy, since obviously, anyone who ''wants'' to shouldn't be allowed to. [[spoiler: It turns out to be the Man in the Shack, who is unlikely to go mad with power, since he doesn't entirely believe the Galaxy ''exists''.]]

* In the season 4 finale of ''Series/TheWestWing'', [[spoiler: Zoey, President Bartlet's youngest daughter, is kidnapped.]] In response, the President acknowledges that he has to step down for the good of the nation. [[spoiler: However, they've just lost their Vice President to a sex scandal, so they have to hand over power to House Speaker Glenallen Walken, a die-hard political opponent.]] And it's held true to form, as [[spoiler: Glenallen and his staff do absolutely nothing non-essential with their power, basically leading the country long enough to find Zoey and then giving it back.]] And of course, [[spoiler: he was rewarded for his patriotism by losing his job as Speaker, too, since he had to resign before he became President.]]

** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'', the ruler of Obel, Lino En Kuldes, gives your hero a seal proving his authority and willingly serves under your command. This gets thrown in his face during the events at [[spoiler: Na-Nal, where their chief mocks Lino and flat-out states he has no power anymore]]. However, he doesn't take back the seal until [[spoiler: you're ready to liberate Obel, at which point he breaks out the kingly robes and gives the enemy fleet his '[[HesBack I'm Back]], [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch Bitches]]' speech.]]

The practice of making the Queen's husband the commander of the Queen's Knights was abolished. From that point onward the position is to be filled on the basis of merit, and the Prince was established by this point as both a great military leader and absolutely loyal to Falena, both qualities that seem to be in short supply. [[spoiler: Plus, it's implied in the last cutscene that Lyon serves either as co-leader or second-in-command of the Queen's Knights and that she and the Prince either are or will end up married.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' had the "Heart of Earth" aka [[spoiler:Lillian]] appoint three "Regents of Earth": [[spoiler: Matt, Mr. Huggles, and Napoleon the cat]].

* Disscused in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', where Harvey Dent explicitly compares Batman to the Roman elected dictators and instantly gets called out by Rachel, who says that such a system eventually led to powerful men appointing ''themselves'' dictators and eventually Julius Caesar and the death of anything resembling representative government in Rome. Later in the movie [[spoiler: Batman hands the power to tap into peoples' cell phones to Lucius Fox, knowing that his objections to the methodology would mean that it was ONLY used in dire emergencies.]]

* Juan Carlos I of Spain. Handpicked by the infamous dictator UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco to succeed him. During Franco's rule, he seemed to be a loyal supporter and destined to continue Franco's policies. All the insiders believed it would be business as usual after Franco was dead. Once Franco was in the ground and Juan had become King of Spain and received the absolute power of his predecessor, he voluntarily used that power to turn Spain into a constitutional monarchy with a Westminster-style Parliament, knowingly and willingly reducing himself to a figurehead in the process. And ''then'', he personally browbeat into submission the officers who attempted a coup to return to the good old Franco days. He was almost universally popular throughout much of his reign, but he ultimately stepped down in 2014 mostly due to age, but also because some people were outraged that he had gone big-game hunting -- pretty much the first "scandal" of his entire reign.

** 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".

* [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2893059 "The Savior Fables"]] see Emma Swan (''Series/OnceUponATime'') learn that, as the new adopted guardian of Literature/HarryPotter, she must also act as regent for the three noble houses that Harry is heir to; specifically, the Houses of Potter, Slytherin and Peverell. Fortunately, she has the aid of the Scamander brothers and Goldstein sisters (still alive and young thanks to a gift of the Elixir of Life from the Flamels), and all parties are agreed that she will pass on her duties to Harry as he gets old enough to deal with them.

* Loki in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' manages to be an ''evil'' version of this trope (though if anyone could make one of the most inherently noble tropes evil...). While at first it looks like he's aiming to be RegentForLife, his entire plan only fully formulates after he's been handed power on a plate -- secretly ''create'' a crisis by making a deal with the enemies of Asgard, avert said crisis in a highly visible fashion by backstabbing said enemies and eliminating their entire planet, and then gracefully step down again with a new reputation as a devoted son and a hero of the realm when his father awakes. [[spoiler:He gets a fall through a black hole and the subsequent destruction of his already fragile sanity in return for his trouble, leading to his return in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' as a newly minted, glassy-eyed [[TakeOverTheWorld world conqueror.]] ]]
** Which would not be the last time the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse had an evil Cincinnatus. Thanos's goal in Film/AvengersInfinityWar is to collect all six infinity stones and use them to eliminate half of all life. He claims that when he's done this he'll rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. [[spoiler: He succeeds and keeps to his word. In the next film he's shown to retired on a ParadisePlanet and has destroyed the infinity stones. The Avengers are shocked he isn't out trying to rebuild his forces or conquer more worlds.]]

* [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2893059 "The Savior Fables"]] see Emma Swan (''Series/OnceUponATime'') learn that, as the new adopted guardian of Literature/HarryPotter, she must also act as regent for the three noble houses that Harry is heir to; specifically, the Houses of Black, Slytherin and Peverell. Fortunately, she has the aid of the Scamander brothers and Goldstein sisters (still alive and young thanks to a gift of the Elixir of Life from the Flamels), and all parties are agreed that she will pass on her duties to Harry as he gets old enough to deal with them.

* Tran Hung Dao, the Vietnamese general who defeated the Mongols twice, was this. He belonged to a branch of the royal family that hated the main one, and his father trained him specifically to overthrow the king when the time came. However, after becoming the supreme commander of the military and being in a prime position to contest the Throne, Hung Dao simply simply did nothing with his power and just retired to his home province, where he later died.

It's TruthInTelevision: not only did it happen with [[TropeNamers Cincinnatus]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus the knight described above]], but all succeeding Roman ''dictators'' ("he who dictates [orders]") also willingly gave up power before or at the end of the prescribed six months, up to and throughout the Punic Wars. It is only with Sulla, after the office had not been used for over a hundred years, that any Roman attempted to abuse the dictatorship. Even Sulla, while abusing his dictatorial power in many ways and having arranged to not have a time limit on his dictatorship, still stepped down after a year. The first ''successful'' attempt to defy this tradition came without the actual ([[JustTheFirstCitizen specific]]) title of dictator, and resulted in the creation of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire.

* "[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2893059 The Savior Fables]]" see Emma Swan (''Series/OnceUponATime'') learn that, as the new adopted guardian of Literature/HarryPotter, she must also act as regent for the three noble houses that Harry is heir to; specifically, the Houses of Black, Slytherin and Peverell. Fortunately, she has the aid of the Scamander brothers and Goldstein sisters (still alive and young thanks to a gift of the Elixir of Life from the Flamels), and all parties are agreed that she will pass on her duties to Harry as he gets old enough to deal with them.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "Gauntlet of Fire", Spike manages to successfully win the title of Dragon Lord, making him one of the most politically powerful characters in the show. He uses this ultimate authority to give all of one (relatively unimportant) order [[note]](that being to order a dragon who has often bullied him to go back home, and give a hug to every dragon he meets on the way)[[/note]] before abdicating and passing the title over to the previous Dragon Lord's daughter, who he had befriended. In fact, he initially showed up to the event to ''ask permission to leave'' because participation was mandatory, only deciding to stay upon realizing that a jerk could gain with the position and the power it confers if he didn't at least try to participate.

* [[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]]".

* 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 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/NapoleonBonaparte was originally supposed to be this, then subverted -- he led a coup against the horribly inefficient semi-democratic government in 1799, then stepped back a little to have a new constitution for France drawn up. According to the Constitution of the Year VII, which was approved in an overwhelming referendum, he became First Consul of France, essentially dictator. However, he was still fully expected to step down -- and, at this point, perhaps even intended to, though his term was all of ten years, more than enough time. Two years later, however, another referendum and the Constitution of the Year X made Napoleon Consul for Life as recognition for restoring order to France and ending the Revolutionary Wars. Since he pretty much had all the power he could wish for at this point, he wasn't all too keen on becoming hereditary Emperor of the French in 1804.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In the new canon continuity the New Republic granted to Mon Mothma the same [[EmergencyAuthority emergency powers]] that Palpatine had claimed as Chancellor of the New Republic. She makes it clear she has no intention of retaining those powers and once the war is over taking the Republic off a wartime footing by among other things drastically reducing the size of the military.

** Meanwhile, the Jedi while ruling their own, tend to act as advisors rather than rule themselves. When they start to grow wary of Palpatine, Ki-Adi-Mundi suggests removing him from office. Mace points out that the Jedi would have to take control of the Republic to ensure peace. Yoda is clearly ''not'' happy about the situation. In [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]], they had to do this when a previous Chancellor grew too corrupt. They did eventually return power to the people.

** Exploited by Augustus, who made sure to abstain from all the flashy titles, while [[JustTheFirstCitizen 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]].

It's TruthInTelevision: not only did it happen with [[TropeNamers Cincinnatus]], the knight we described above, but all succeeding Roman ''dictators'' ("he who dictates [orders]") also willingly gave up power before or at the end of the prescribed six months, up to and throughout the Punic Wars. It is only with Sulla, after the office had not been used for over a hundred years, that any Roman attempted to abuse the dictatorship. Even Sulla, while abusing his dictatorial power in many ways and having arranged to not have a time limit on his dictatorship, still stepped down after a year. The first ''successful'' attempt to defy this tradition came without the actual ([[JustTheFirstCitizen specific]]) title of dictator, and resulted in the creation of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire.

When played more cynically it may overlap with HonorBeforeReason. It can also overlap with ShortLivedLeadership, and has heavily overlap with GracefullyDemoted.

It's TruthInTelevision: not only did it happen with Cincinnatus, the knight we described above, but all succeeding Roman ''dictators'' ("he who dictates [orders]") also willingly gave up power before or at the end of the prescribed six months, up to and throughout the Punic Wars. It is only with Sulla, after the office had not been used for over a hundred years, that any Roman attempted to abuse the dictatorship. Even Sulla, while abusing his dictatorial power in many ways and having arranged to not have a time limit on his dictatorship, still stepped down after a year. The first ''successful'' attempt to defy this tradition came without the actual ([[JustTheFirstCitizen specific]]) title of dictator, and resulted in the creation of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636003 Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi]]'' has the titular [[Franchise/StarWars Jedi]] thrust unto the position by a senator who is exhausted with the now ten year long Clone Wars and finally says enough is enough, and knows from their past experience with Obi-Wan that he is perfect for the role because he loathes the politics but is up to the duty. HilarityEnsues as Obi-Wan struggles with a job he detests but lives up to.

* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Zaphod Beeblebrox notes that the President of the Galactic Empire election apparently involved scanning his brains for any actual desire to hold the position - or, at least, any desire to take it ''seriously'' - and if found, would have dropped him on the curb with only the clothes on his back and two stumps where his heads used to be. The purpose of the Galactic President is to ''distract'' people from the question of who ''actually'' runs the Galaxy, since obviously, anyone who ''wants'' to shouldn't be allowed to. [[spoiler: It turns out to be the Old Man in the Shack, who is unlikely to go mad with power, since he doesn't entirely believe the Galaxy ''exists''.]]

* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Zaphod Beeblebrox notes that the President of the Galactic Empire election apparently involved scanning his brains for any actual desire to hold the position - or, at least, any desire to take it ''seriously - and if found, would have dropped him on the curb with only the clothes on his back and two stumps where his heads used to be. The purpose of the Galactic President is to ''distract'' people from the question of who ''actually'' runs the Galaxy, since obviously, anyone who ''wants'' to shouldn't be allowed to. [[spoiler: It turns out to be the Old Man in the Shack, who is unlikely to go mad with power, since he doesn't entirely believe the Galaxy ''exists''.]]

* In ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'', Zaphod Beeblebrox notes that the President of the Universe election apparently involved scanning his brains for any actual desire to hold the position - and if found, would have dropped him on the curb with only the clothes on his back and two stumps where his heads used to be. Evidently they believe that anyone who actually want the job would be a great risk.

* Despite being a violent idiot [[CrapsackWorld like everybody else]], President Camacho from ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'' willingly steps aside and lets Joe “Not Sure” Bauers take over after he solved the famine crisis that plagued the nation.

** UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, the first president, was unanimously elected to two four-year terms. Even though there was no law at the time limiting presidents to only two terms in office, he declined to run for election again (thereby establishing a custom that survived attempts at [non-consecutive] third terms by UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant and UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt and wasn't actually broken until UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt). He could have served even longer, but is considered a modern Cincinnatus for not doing so. Cincinnati is partly named in his honor also. Washington pulled this off once prior when he resigned his commission in the army and went back to private life for ''years'' before becoming president. On hearing that Washington planned to invoke this trope, King George III said, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."
** 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.

** It's easy to forget due to the long line of historians with Southern sympathies smearing his presidency (which is currently reevaluated by historians as decent and even great in fields like race relations), but UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant had a PopularityPolynomial going on during his own lifetime. He was immensely popular from emerging as a commander in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar to the end of his first term (his 1872 bid for reelection succeeded with only token opposition), but suffered greatly due to the economic downturn and increasingly-hard-to-ignore corruption of other executive branch members during his second term. Out of office, he regained the favor of many Americans and wanted to give a third term a try, but the Republican Party bigwigs flatly refused, citing the example of Washington. There being no meaningful democratic primaries, that was that.