History Main / TheConsigliere

* Another Tom, Tom Reagan, is the right hand of Leo, chief of the Irish mob in ''Film/MillersCrossing''. He doubles up as TheDragon and is a deliberate nod to Hagen. In this case, [[MagnificentBastard he is almost entirely the brains of the organization]].

* Ugo Bencini plays this role to ''two'' generations of the ''Series/MediciMastersOfFlorence'', though the role is understated compared to many on this list.

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[[quoteright:300:[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kouzou_fuyutsuki.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Hey Fuyutsuki, how does this look?"\\
"[[FingerTenting Very... scheming.]]"\\
"Good. Carry on."]]

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A NumberTwo who is the Number One's voice of reason. Their advice is valuable to the boss because they're usually right, which puts them in a unique position to [[HonestAdvisor "Speak Truth To Power"]] when other staff might be scared to contradict the boss. This kind of job security is largely self-reinforcing--[[VetinariJobSecurity the boss won't fire him because he needs]] [[HonestAdvisor his uniquely honest advice]], but he only has the freedom to be honest because he knows the boss won't fire him. Often the [[TheSmartGuy smartest guy]] [[TheEvilGenius in the room]], or just a [[TheConscience calming influence]] to a HotBlooded boss. There's a high likelihood of his being a [[AmoralAttorney retained lawyer.]]

* Vinegar Doppio from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' officially carries this title in the Passione family, second only to the enigmatic Boss himself. He is an extremely unusual example of this trope as he appears to be a rather naive and somewhat clueless teenager as opposed to the lower ranked members, who are all hardened criminals, but he is the only one trusted enough with direct access to the Boss. [[spoiler:Later, it is revealed that Doppio is in fact a split personality of the Boss, meaning that Diavolo ''effectively served as his own consigliere''.]]
** After Diavolo and Doppio are defeated at the end of the story, [[spoiler:Polnareff's ghost]] takes on the recently vacated title of Consigliere to Giorno. We don't get to see him do much with it, since Araki never returned to Passione after the end of ''Golden Wind'', but it's official nonetheless.

* ''Anime/{{K}}'''s Kings all have one, most notably Izumo Kusanagi of HOMRA, and Seri Awashima of Scepter 4. The Red King and Blue King are [[RedOniBlueOni very different personalities]], but the roles of their consiglieri are remarkably similar. The two are actually friends in their personal lives - they share information, and (implicitly) commiserate over their similar roles. The prequel novels (and their adaptations in the K 7 Stories series) show that the previous Red and Blue kings had these as well.
* ''Music/{{Tsukiuta}}'' is remarkably similar to K in the way it shows its unit leaders as kings, despite the fact that it's an idol series. Haru and Kai fit this to a T. Hajime's season 4 audio drama has him and Haru discussing this exact quality of their relationship, how he needs Haru around because Haru is the only one that he can trust to be honest with him, instead of just seeing him as the king. Kai is often more of a caretaker (or butler) to Shun, but their relationship does mirror Hajime and Haru's. The [[Music/{{Tsukipro}} other units]], and stage play original characters, also [[GeodesicCast reflect this]] off of the original two units.
* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', there's one Kouzou Fuyutsuki to Gendo Ikari. It's heavily implied that the main reason he sticks around is out of loyalty to [[HotForStudent his former student]] and Gendo's wife Yui rather than any attachment to Gendo himself, as he actually did not like Gendo at all when they first met.
* A good part of the role of the ''kirin'' in ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'' is to be an advisor to the FisherKing they choose. And a good part of the ruler's role is to know when to listen and when to ignore the ''kirin'', since the ''kirin'' is inherently ([[StupidGood and often illogically]]) compassionate, which is not enough to rule a kingdom.

* In ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', Siegfried Kircheis and Paul von Oberstein are this for Reinhard von Lohengramm, with Kircheis being Reinhard's childhood friend that equals or possibly surpasses his talent but lacks his ambition and acting as a conscience, and Oberstein being an extremely intelligent and amoral man who desires to reform the Empire but, realizing he lacks the charisma, swore himself to serve Reinhard who shared his goal and had the talent and charisma to reach the top.
* [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Masa]] is the closest thing to this for Sun's dad Gozaburo in ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid''. Had the show been more serious, it would have been more obvious.

* In ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'' Mitsuhide to Zen
* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', Mello plays this role to Rod Ross.
* {{Deconstructed}} in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'': UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette has ''two'', the Count de Mercy, who UsefulNotes/MariaTheresa, Marie Antoinette's mother, sent from Austria specifically for this job because she knew her daughter needed one, and Oscar, who unofficially took the role by herself, but Marie Antoinette doesn't listen, the end result being UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution -- and Oscar dying during the Storming of the Bastille, as Marie Antoinette's continued listening to less honest advisors gradually led her to come closer to the more extremist positions and [[DefectorFromDecadence deserting with her troops when ordered to suppress the riots in Paris]].

* Tom Hagen in ''Film/TheGodfather'', and any Mafia "consigliere" in general, since that is the job description. Close to a UnbuiltTrope in that Tom, though well-meaning, is not a wartime Consigliere and is unable to smell a rat the way old Genco, the previous Consigliere, would have. Michael replaces him with his father, although he still listens to him until he grows unhappy with Tom in ''[[Film/TheGodfatherPartII Part II]]''. In ''[[Film/TheGodfatherPartIII Part III]]'', the role is divided among his younger sister Constanzia, who [[LadyMacBeth spurs Michael into action]], and B.J. Harrison, who handles the financial and now legitimate affairs of the family.
* Another Tom, Tom Reagan, is the right hand of Leo, chief of the Irish mob in ''Film/MillersCrossing''. He doubles up as TheDragon and is a deliberate nod to Hagen. In this case, [[MagnificentBastard he is almost entirely the brains of the organization]].

* Avi in Film/JohnWick serves this role to his boss [[BigBad Viggo]], advising him and trying to keep him from doing anything rash.
* [[TheMedic Ship's doctor]] Stephen Maturin occasionally plays this to Captain Jack Aubrey in ''Film/MasterAndCommander'', being a close personal friend. He does get overruled rather frequently compared to other notable examples, however; Jack values Stephen's advice, but Jack is also a man under orders, and orders take precedence. "Subject to the requirements of the service," Stephen muses sadly, when yet another of Jack's personal promises is abruptly cancelled by the needs of the Navy.

* In ''Literature/TwistedCogs" a Stormetouched's [[MindlinkMates Echo]] can act like this. The main character's Echo is constantly trying to give helpful advice that often falls on deaf ears.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
** Davos and Melisandre, to King/Lord Stannis. Of course, Melisandre kind of nullifies all Davos' advice, but he tries -- and he used to succeed. Stannis chose him ''specifically'' because of this trope. He was so brutally honest that his lord appreciated how he'd always say the truth no matter what.
** Eddard Stark serves this role for his friend, King Robert.
*** In general, the Hand of the King was supposed to serve this role for his King. Various Hands had varying degrees of success.
** Samwell tries to be this to Jon Snow, with varying degrees of success. He eventually [[spoiler: leaves for Oldtown, to earn his maester's chain to better serve Jon, whom he helped make the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.]]
** Among the duties of Maesters [[note]]omnidisciplarian scholars[[/note]] assigned to castles is to advice lords of said castles on any topic covered in their studies.
* Marco is this to Jake in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''.
** He seems to fall into this role for whoever is the current leader, as he fills the same position for Rachel during her short stint, and also for Tobias when the Animorphs split up into sub-teams. (Usually it's Tobias-Ax-Marco and Jake-Rachel-Cassie.)
* Jeffrey Pelt is this to the President in ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober''.
* John Sutter in ''The Gold Coast'' and ''The Lake House'' ends up with a Mafia don as his friendly next door neighbor, who co-opts him into this trope. His son tries the same thing in the sequel.

* Mary Ann Patten in ''Literature/TheCaptainsWife'' (which is BasedOnATrueStory).
* Dirch Frode, family lawyer for [[BigScrewedUpFamily the Vanger clan]], to patriarch Henrik Vanger, in ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo]]''.
* Oxley is this to [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Father Thames]] in ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'', in the court of Mama Thames Tybur...[[DoNotCallMePaul Lady Ty]] likes to cast herself in this role, but is really TheStarscream.

* The Seanchan Truthspeakers in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''
* The Virtuous Woman in [[Literature/TheBible Proverbs 31]]. She is described as an efficient administrator and merchantess managing the affairs of a rich Jewish household and hustling through the bazaar.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Although Hendricks is introduced as [[TheDon Marcone's]] primary bodyguard, he sports this role in side-stories focused on Marcone's operations. In addition to being built like a linebacker, he has a classical education and a degree in philosophy, and is fond of quoting famous texts to make his points. Marcone not only trusts him with explicit threats to his life, but also with ensuring the boss doesn't make any potentially fatal missteps. Hendricks also serves as a sort of liaison with Monoc Securities (in the form of the ever-present Ms. Gard), to whom Marcone owes a certain amount of his success.

* In the ''Literature/DredChronicles'', Tam fills this role for gang-leader Dred. She's tougher than him, but he's generally better at politics. He does have his own agenda, but he pursues through making himself indispensable to Dred rather than trying to take over himself.

* Buckwheat in ''Literature/TheColdMoons'' is the second-in-command to Eldon and is more qualified to be leader than Eldon (who would prefer to sleep and eat over actually doing anything). His insight is more useful than Eldon's and he's more trusted than Eldon. Buckwheat is older than Eldon and was an advisor to his own father Jason as well. He would have likely become leader if the badgers hadn't broken regulation and allowed Eldon to become leader just because he was Jason's son.

* Stringer Bell in ''Series/TheWire'' - something of a [[LondonGangster Reggie Kray]] parallel in the way he tries to calm down his HotBlooded gangster boss, and shows impressive business skills when that boss is put in prison. Also Norman to Carcetti, who is kept on staff because of his willingness to "speak Truth to Power".

* Silvio Dante has this role, literally and figuratively, in ''Series/TheSopranos'' crime family. He's not a bad one either, often giving Tony good advice (contrary to many actual ''consiglieri'' in today's Mafia, who tend to be shameless ass-kissers). At one point he tells his wife that there'd been talk of promoting him to boss instead of Tony when the role opened up, but he always saw himself as a consigliere, not a boss. When he had to serve as "acting boss" for a time while Tony was indisposed, Silvio was distinctly uncomfortable.
* Eric often fulfills this role to Vince in ''Series/{{Entourage}}''.
* Leo [=McGarry=] in ''Series/TheWestWing'' to President Jed Bartlet, both as Chief of Staff in seasons 1-6, and as an advisor later in S6. Invoked when Leo calls himself a "wartime consigliere" to Toby in "The Leadership Breakfast".
** Josh Lyman to Matt Santos.

* Spock and Dr. [=McCoy=], to Kirk, in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' Data (as Second Officer) tended to fill the role for Picard more often than his first officer, Riker did.
* Wilson in ''Series/DadsArmy'' ("[[CatchPhrase Do you think that's]] ''[[CatchPhrase wise]]'', [[CatchPhrase sir?"]])
* Though he started out more as a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold jerk]], David Rossi in ''Series/CriminalMinds'' has become the consigliere to Hotch, and to a lesser extent, [[spoiler: Morgan]].
* [[TwoFirstNames Nick George]] for Tripp Darling, and by extension for the whole BigScrewedUpFamily, in ''Series/DirtySexyMoney''. His father had the job before him.
* Mrs. Onedin in ''Series/TheOnedinLine'' is this for her [[FamilyBusiness husband's firm]]. She is loyal, determined, and GoodWithNumbers . James Onedin married her for a ship she owned, and started to love her because she was so canny a businesswoman. Who says money is unromantic?
* Saul Goodman in ''Series/BreakingBad'', citing the TropeCodifier: "What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?" Although by the middle of season 3, Saul finds himself increasingly out of his depth and almost completely domineered by Walt.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'':
** Young gangster Jimmy Darmody has two consiglieres; his mother, Gillian (who is also a LadyMacbeth), and Leander Whitlock, a CoolOldGuy who also advised his father.
** While we haven't seen too much of it yet, [[ForegoneConclusion Meyer Lansky will go on to become Lucky Luciano's]]. At this point, they're more CoDragons to Arnold Rothstein.
* ''Series/TheBorgias'': Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli to the Medici family. Yes, ''that'' Machiavelli, even though in RealLife his political career was after the Medicis were expelled and when they returned they tortured him and forced him into retirement.
** In season two, Vannozza dei Cattanei, Rodrigo's former mistress and mother to his children, becomes this for the Borgia family and for Giulia Farnese.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Bra'tac explains his reasons for teaching Teal'c to mistrust the Goa'uld this way. Teal'c becomes First Prime, essentially Apophis' Second-In-Command and, as such, can temper Apophis' hand at times and prevent some of the worst atrocities. Bra'tac reveals that this is what he did during his time as First Prime, as well. One such time nearly gets Teal'c killed years later, when Apophis orders him to shoot a villager to teach the others a lesson about resisting their god. Teal'c knows there's nothing he can do to change Apophis's mind, so he picks a one-legged man, knowing that, without him, the rest will be able to run away faster next time. The man's son isn't that understanding, of course.
** Oshu (apparently, a clone of [[Literature/TheArtOfWarSunTzu Sun Tzu]]) does this for Lord Yu, especially when Yu begins to suffer from the Goa'uld version of senility. Oshu does his best to mitigate the damage from Yu's wildly unpredictable commands.
* In ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'', one of the Families' cronies laments that no one will ever know how many times he stopped them and saved lives in the process.

** In season two, Polly becomes this to Tommy (along with his explicit NumberTwo), advising him and the rest of the family on business, but because she's just as infamous as he is, she cannot serve as the "public face" of the company the way a consigliere needs to.
** Polly's son Michael seems to be the perfect consigliere - groomed from a young age for the position, kept very carefully apart from the bloodier, nastier side of the business, and placed into position as company accountant. Michael even lampshades this in the third season.
* Li H'sen Chang in ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng Chiang]]", is this to Magnus Greel, reminding him some things are not workable.
* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': Each of the heroes generally tends to have some minders to act as voices of reason to them, and even a few villains.
** ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'':
*** Foggy Nelson and Karen Page grow into the consigliere role after learning Matt's secret.
*** James Wesley functions as one to Wilson Fisk, and is often the face of the organization while Fisk is operating in the shadows.
** ''Series/LukeCage2016'': [[Creator/TheoRossi Hernan "Shades" Alvarez]] functions as one to Harlem's gangsters, although unlike Wesley, his loyalty can waver and he'll jump ship if he thinks his bosses aren't taking his advice seriously. He eventually ends up working for Mariah Dillard, the only boss who actually considers him useful.
* In ''Series/WolfHall'', Thomas Cromwell is able to make Henry consider him favorably by being totally unapologetic about opposing Henry's wars in France, even though he's also trying to get Cardinal Wolsey back in Henry's good graces. When Cromwell becomes Henry's right-hand man outright, he is the most capable out of all the court and one of the few who can offer an opposing opinion, although he has to word it very carefully and catch Henry in the right mood for it.

** Catelyn Stark act as the voice of reason towards her son Robb. She ends up being the only character to have seen two cases of Robb's allies turning on him coming, and at one point suggests simply stopping to fight the war when their army's numbers take a hit because of said lost allies.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Keeping with the mafia equivalence, Hank the halfling is this to Bozzok's [[TheDon Don]], ensuring the smooth running of the ThievesGuild by handling the bureaucratic part.

* Waylon Smithers in many instances tries to be such to Mr Burns in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', either correcting the latter's long outdated logic, or trying to appeal for a more pragmatic approach to some of his {{Evil Plan}}s. This straight up got him fired in the "Who Shot Mr Burns?" two-parter, where Smithers desperately objected to Burns' diabolical scheme to block the sun.

* General Alan Brooke to UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill. Arguably this kept Britain's ablest general away from having a field command for most of UsefulNotes/WorldWar2, but his role has been recognised - there's a statue of him on Whitehall, alongside Montgomery and Slim.

-->Elanor's work at Dover was considerable. There was a continuous flow of messages to and from the Countess who was busy supporting her husband's revolt against the King. She dispatched assistance to him including a certain William the Engineer, who was evidently a specialist in siege weaponry. She procured military equipment for her husband's use, maintained relations with a substantial body of military followers and conducted negotiations with various third parties. Among the visitors who dined with Elanor of Dover, were leading citizens from the port towns of Sandwich and Winchelsea, whose support or assistance she was presumably trying to enlist, and she fostered relations with visiting ambassadors and merchants from overseas...

* In ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', Seigfried Kircheis and Paul von Oberstein are this for Reinhard von Lohengramm, with Kircheis being Reinhard's childhood friend that equals or possibly surpasses his talent but lacks his ambition and acting as a conscience, and Oberstein being an extremely intelligent and amoral man who desires to reform the Empire but, realizing he lacks the charisma, swore himself to serve Reinhard who shared his goal and had the talent and charisma to reach the top.

* Vinegar Doppio from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo'' officially carries this title in the Passione family, second only to the enigmatic Boss himself. He is an extremely unusual example of this trope as he appears to be a rather naive and somewhat clueless teenager as opposed to the lower ranked members, who are all hardened criminals, but he is the only one trusted enough with direct access to the Boss. [[spoiler:Later, it is revealed that Doppio is in fact a split personality of the Boss, meaning that Diavolo ''effectively served as his own consigliere''.]]
** After Diavolo and Doppio are defeated at the end of the story, [[spoiler:Polnareff's ghost]] takes on the recently vacated title of Consigliere to Giorno. We don't get to see him do much with it, since Araki never returned to Passione after the end of Vento Aureo, but it's official nonetheless.

* [[TheMedic Ship's doctor]] Stephen Maturin occasionally plays this to Captain Jack Aubrey in ''Film/MasterAndCommander'', being a close personal friend. He does get overruled rather frequently compared to other notable examples, however.

In case you were wondering--''con-sill-YEH-reh''. Sort of. It's Italian for "counsellor" or "advisor".

"[[FingerTenting Very...scheming.]]"\\

* A good part of the role of the ''kirin'' in ''LightNovel/TheTwelveKingdoms'' is to be an advisor to the FisherKing they choose. And a good part of the ruler's role is to know when to listen and when to ignore the ''kirin'', since the ''kirin'' is inherently ([[StupidGood and often illogically]]) compassionate, which is not enough to rule a kingdom.

** Among the duties of Maesters [[note]]omnidisciplarian scholars[[/note]] assigned to castles is to advice lords of said catles on any topic covered in their studies.

** While we haven't seen too much of it yet, [[ForegoneConclusion Meyer Lansky will go on to become Lucky Luciano's]]. At this point, they're more ThoseTwoBadGuys and CoDragons to Arnold Rothstein.

Similar to TheMentor, but usually the same age or younger than their charge. Possibly, but not necessarily, the OnlySaneMan. Might be the ChessmasterSidekick if it turns out that [[TheManInFrontOfTheMan he's actually the one in charge]], or the HypercompetentSidekick if their boss would be useless without them. If he uses ObfuscatingStupidity to get away with BrutalHonesty, he's TheJester. Contrast with EvilChancellor; compare and contrast TheGoodChancellor.

* Waylon Smithers in many instances tries to be such to Mr Burns in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', either correcting the latter's long outdated logic, or trying to appeal for a more pragmatic approach to some of his {{Evil Plan}}s. This straight up got him fired in the "Who Shot Mr Burns?" two parter, where Smithers desperately objected to Burns' diabolical scheme to block the sun.

* General Alan Brooke to UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill.

* In ''Film/{{Siletto}}'', the aging Gus was Virgil's mentor in the Greek crime syndicate, and acts as his consigliere now that Virgil heads the family.

** Oshu (apparently, a clone of [[Literature/TheArtOfWarSunTzu Sun Tzu]]) does this for Lord Yu, especially as of late, when Yu is suffering form the Goa'uld version of senility. Oshu does his best to mitigate the damage from Yu's wildly unpredictable commands.

* This Cracked article '6 People Who Secretly Ruled The World' [[http://www.cracked.com/article_17284_6-people-who-secretly-ruled-world.html These Guys]].

* In the [[Literature/FirestarSeries ''Firestar'' series]], Mariesa infiltrates the teachers her scion company has just taken over. One teacher, Barry Fast, makes vehement but sensible complaints; the next time the two meet, she makes him a trusted advisor. They fall out [[spoiler: and divorce]] partially because, consumed with the magnitude of her work, she stops taking his input seriously.

* Silvio Dante has this role, literally and figuratively, in ''Series/TheSopranos'' crime family. At one point he tells his wife that there'd been talk of promoting him to boss instead of Tony when the role opened up, but he always saw himself as a consigliere, not a boss.

* In ''Film/TheGentlemen'', Raymond serves as Mickey's advisor and [[TheDragon chief enforcer]]. Fletcher lampshades it at one point, actually referring to Raymond by this title.

* Seigfried Kircheis is this for Reinhard von Lohengramm in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''.

* [[http://www.cracked.com/article_17284_6-people-who-secretly-ruled-world.html These Guys]].

** In general, the Hand of the King was supposed to serve this role for his King. Various Hands had varying degrees of success.

* [[Literature/JudgeDee Di Renjie]] gained a reputation for this in the Chinese imperial court in the seventh century. The early part of his career could be summed up as a cycle of "Speak Truth To Power, get demoted/arrested, be proven right, get re-promoted," but later became so respected for embodying this trope that the Empress Regent UsefulNotes/WuZetian usually referred to him as the State Elder.

* [[Literature/JudgeDee Di Renjie]] gained a reputation for this in the Chinese imperial court in the seventh century. The early part of his career could be summed up as a cycle of "Speak Truth To Power, get demoted/arrested, be proven right, get re-promoted," but later became so respected for embodying this trope that the empress usually referred to him as the State Elder.

* ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'': When [[FallenHero Jade]] resurrects the [[TheSyndicate Dark Hand]] as the Shadow Hand, she recruits Valmont to serve this role, advising her on how to run a criminal empire. However, his indignity at being forced to work for a child (especially one who's too lazy for the detail work) leads to him planning to [[TheStarscream steal all her money and/or take control from her]]. When this fails, she tosses him aside to be arrested and replaces him with [[EnigmaticMinion Blankman]], who serves the role more faithfully.