History Main / TheGoodChancellor

As the EvilChancellor is plotting to control the kingdom by usurping power, the Good Chancellor serves his kingdom or nation with utmost fervour. He follows the King's orders to the letter if the king is noble, and he tries to mitigate the suffering of his people if the king's intentions are of the bad kind. Rarely would he be seen actively opposing the King's actions, since as a LawfulGood person, he must not let ideas like rebellion or jealousy get in the way of running the kingdom in the king's name. This often does not sit well with some rebels, who see him as a moderate who must lose his head for being a supposed YesMan to the king they want on a pike. Unless of course the King cuts his head off first, in which case the rebels might see him as a martyr or a cautionary tale against using words against tyrants.

* When Princess Celestia has urgent business in Ponyville in ''Fanfic/{{Green}}'', she asks Princess Luna's BeleagueredAssistant Midnight Oil to hold down the fort as her Regent for the night. When the events of that night leave Celestia mostly de-powered, Regent Midnight Oil comes into his own as TheGoodChancellor and NumberTwo to Princess Luna while Celestia recovers.

* In one sample campaign in TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} ''Arabian Nights'', there is an NPC whom everyone thinks is an EvilChancellor but is really a [[TheGoodChancellor Good Chancellor.]]

* In the [[Literature/HorusHeresy past]] of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Malcador the Sigillite. The Emperor's right-hand man and regent when away from Terra, he is the greatest politician, administrator, and (non-PhysicalGod) human psyker of all time, as the Emperor is the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking greatest everything else]][[note]]Except for [[BigEater eater]] and [[NeverGetsDrunk drinker]], where the title of greatest goes to the Emperor's son Leman Russ. And dad. Big E was a ''terrible'' father[[/note]].

* Vulko in ''Film/Aquaman2018'' despite (or rather because) he's deliberately undermining his king. It's just that his king is a genocidal warmonger who is willing to subjugate the other undersea kingdoms by force and guile to gain the forces he needs to wipe out humanity. Vulko thus gives reasonable-sounding advice to Orm (actually meant to keep Orm from being ''too'' bloodthirsty) while secretly aiding Arthur and Mera in finding the lost Trident of Atlan which will allow Arthur to depose Orm.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the Stewards of Gondor have as their proudest boast that they never made themselves kings, and ruled the city strictly in the name of the King until an heir to the throne returned. Even Denethor, as crazy as he was, never tried to claim the throne - although when the true heir, Aragorn, shows up, Denethor doesn't accept the legitimacy of his claim. He's kind of a borderline example.
** It is stated that Denethor was and remained TheGoodChancellor, despite being almost completely overcome with grief and despair in his final days, brought on by the stress of holding together a state in decline, combined with the despair brought on by the death of his wife and oldest son, as well as Sauron's lies. Even at the very end, though, he showed himself an excellent statesman and soldier, preparing as best he could for war, though he did not hope for victory. For example, the attack against Osgiliath, portrayed in the movies as suicidal, was in fact a brilliantly timed counterattack that took advantage of the enemy's bottleneck (crossing the Anduin river) and the fact that the forces that had crossed had were forced to fan out to secure the city. The counterattack ended up buying Minas Tirith time to prepare, and time to evacuate the civilian population of the land surrounding Minas Tirith (the city itself had long since been evacuated). Perhaps most importantly, Denethor was actually stronger than Saruman, an angelic being, in that he managed to use the palantír extensively without actually being corrupted, though he was not able to control it, allowing Sauron to show him images of unassailable strength, which contributed to his despair.
* The Rivan Warders, always named Brand, are a deliberate homage to Denethor in David Eddings's ''Literature/TheBelgariad''.

* In ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Interesting Times]]'', Twoflower ends up as the Prime Minister of the Agatean Empire, replacing an evil chancellor, despite not knowing what to do. Discworld runs on narrativium (the implication is that someone who ''did'' know about it would become evil), but luckily Twoflower is WrongGenreSavvy: he thinks he's in a heroic fantasy, not a CrapsackWorld satire.
** He does end up betraying his monarch, but he has a very good reason for that: if he doesn't, there is a very large risk that the world will end.
* The Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles: Willin the elf. He's perhaps overly fond of tradition and ceremonies--he insists on referring to the king as "Your Majesty" even in private, and his greatest pleasure is organizing elaborate formal occasions--but he's fiercely loyal and keeps the castle administration running smoothly.
* In Creator/LFrankBaum's ''Literature/LandOfOz'' series, the Scarecrow takes up this position for Ozma.

* In Creator/RobertEHoward's King Literature/{{Kull}} stories, Kull's vizier Tu fits this trope, helping the mighty but savage warrior navigate the dangerous complexities of royal tradition and Valusia's DecadentCourt.

* Both Joseph and Daniel in Literature/TheBible, as well as Mordaci who replaces Haman after his downfall.
* Grimble in Literature/MythAdventures, while engaging in power struggles with General Badaxe, has no desire to rule. He's an adversary of the [[LovableRogue protagonists]] primarily because the protagonists are trying to shake down the kingdom for every gold piece in the treasury and Grimble is trying to stop them.

* Joseph, from the ''Literature/BookOfGenesis'' in Literature/TheBible. He serves under the Pharaoh as a Vizier, and unlike the [[NephariousPharaoh two infamous Pharaohs]] from ''Literature/BookOfExodus'', the Pharaoh in Genesis is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who genuinely appreciates Joseph's talents and his deeds.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Hearth's Warming Eve", Twilight Sparkle and co. take part in a play about the founding of Equestria. Applejack's character is Smart Cookie, an advisor to Chancellor Puddinghead (played by Pinkie Pie) and much nicer (and more intelligent) than she is.

** Tyrion serves as a much-needed one to Joffrey during his brief but brilliant stint as acting Hand in Season 2. In no small part, the Lannister banner is sustained by his skill at administration and his ability to stare down Joffrey's cruelty, subvert Cersei's incompetence, and prepare the city for the inevitable siege. Varys even commends him as better than Ned Stark or Jon Arryn because he enjoys rather than disdains the game of thrones. Later, Tyrion moves on to play this same role in Dany's court, offering her a much-needed voice of reason after Barristan's death. Dany eventually names him Hand of The Queen, finally giving him the recognition he so desired. However this slightly comes across as InformedAbility in the later seasons, as Tyrion's advice leads to continuous losses for Dany, yet she keeps him and [[spoiler:at the end, he is promoted again to Hand by King Bran despite his constant failures]].
** Surprisingly for his horrible personality, Tywin Lannister seems this way for many people who aren't personally affected by him. He served as Hand to ''the Mad King'' for twenty of the most stable and prosperous years Westeros had experienced in recent memory, which ended almost immediately upon his dismissal. He takes up the position again in Season 3 under Joffrey (Mad King 2.0) and stabilizes the Lannister regime by cowing his sadistic grandson (making him a PuppetKing) and his quarrelsome children and actually running Westeros. When the main part of the war is officially over, he turns to consolidating the Kingdom with new alliances with the Tyrells and Martells, as well as focusing on solving the crown's debts. He's still a ''huge'' asshole but someone with a day-to-day grasp of administration.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', Scribe Rothchild can be seen as the Good Chancellor to the Lyon's Pride. He is the one who knows about the nitty-gritty details of fighting the Enclave.
** Senior Council Member [=McClure=] served in most regards as this to First Citizen Lynette of Vault City in VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}. He is one of the most prominent politicians of Vault City, behind only the First Citizen herself. He is also much less bigoted, and more willing to listen to reason. It is publically known that he butts heads with her repeatedly, though.

* In the [[Literature/HorusHeresy past]] of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Malcador the Sigillite. The Emperor's right-hand man and regent when away from Terra, he is the greatest politician, administrator, and (non-PhysicalGod) human psyker of all time, as the Emperor is the [[PsychicPowers greatest]] [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking everything]] [[EmperorScientist else]][[note]]Except for [[BigEater eater]] and [[NeverGetsDrunk drinker]], where the title of greatest goes to the Emperor's son Leman Russ. And dad. Big E was a ''terrible'' father[[/note]].

* Imhotep (believed to have lived between 2660 and 2600 BC), Chancellor to King Djoser of the Egyptian Third Dynasty, and was the first engineer, architect, and physician known to history by name. He was such a respected figure in AncientEgypt he was deified and considered a god after his death, something usually reserved only to the Pharaohs. He even got a constellation [[note]]Ophiuchus the Serpent-Bearer, just north of Scorpius[[/note]]. [[Film/TheMummyTrilogy Pity about that]] HistoricalVillainUpgrade though...

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar,'' Aladdin is promoted to Vizier in the Sultan's palace. It should be noted that the viewer could easily miss this point, since he spends the rest of the movie, [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries the TV series]], and [[WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves the sequel]] just battling villains and monsters instead of governmental work.

-->-- '''Emperor Gregor Vorbarra''' (regarding Aral Vorkosigan), ''Literature/{{Cryoburn}}''

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' had Prime Minister Malachi, a dedicated servant to Centauri Emperor Turhan. Lord Refa and the other warmongering nobles assassinated Malachi in the wake of Emperor Turhan's death because they wanted to put their own puppet on the throne, and they knew that there was no way Malachi would allow a [[AxeCrazy psychotic megalomaniac]] like Cartagia (the puppet in question) to reach the throne. In the end, of course, they would have been better off keeping Malachi and killing Cartagia...

* The kirin of ''LightNovel/TheTwelveKingdoms'' are ostensibly this. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] though due to their StupidGood natures. Good rulers learn when to heed their kirin and when to disregard their advice because compassion alone cannot administer a nation.

** The various notable Hands of the King all seem to be this (there have been notable exceptions, historically). Jon Arryn and Ned Stark work very hard to support the rule of King Robert, while Tyrion and Tywin did the same for Joffrey. The only possible exception is the aforementioned Tywin, who helped depose the mad King Aerys, but only after he'd been humiliated, ignored, and then, ultimately, sacked for being... good at his job. Please note: sacking the guy who has been keeping everything afloat for decades while you piss about is, arguably, a decent sign that you've [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumped off too many slopes]] to be trusted (or safe) anywhere near absolute power. Before that he was Aerys's best friend, leading Westeros through twenty years of peace and prosperity before Aerys got jealous and sacked him in anger. Though how effective Tywin is is debatable, considering his monstrous actions during the War of the Five Kings come back to bite the Lannisters, having turned many against them. Lord Stannis, Robert's brother, tried to be this as well. Despite being only Master of Ships and [[ReassignedToAntarctica Lord of the small island of Dragonstone]] he was one of the main helpers to Jon Arryn.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar,'' Aladdin is promoted to Vizier in Jafar's place. It should be noted that the viewer could easily miss this point, since he spends the rest of the movie, [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries the TV series]], and [[WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves the sequel]] just battling villains and monsters instead of governmental work.