History Main / BadassBureaucrat

* Bob "Mr. Incredible" Parr, from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', is this during his brief stint as an insurance claims agent, much to the chagrin of his ObstructiveBureaucrat boss Mr. Huph. When a sweet old lady has her coverage denied, he quickly and covertly rattles off a string of forms and contacts to get her what she needs.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': While Tywin Lannister is definitely an effective battlefield commander and tactician, his real strength is his almost unmatched skill as a politician and long-term [[TheStrategist strategist]]. [[TheDreaded He is feared throughout the entire country]] for [[TheUnfettered his ruthlessness and brutal efficiency]]. His audiences with people are almost universally one-sided, with him being able to completely break people's ability to negotiate with [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech brutal speeches]] and [[TheChessmaster out-maneuvering]]. While his [[TheCaligula psychopathic grandson]] is, on paper, the king and the most powerful person in the Seven Kingdoms, Tywin is the real power behind his rule and [[DragonInChief lets Joffrey know on several occasions who is really the one in charge]]. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} in that the moment Tywin's dead (itself the result of his character flaws), the Lannister faction begins a slow collapse, due to Tywin's sexism and excessive methods, contrasted with the continuing devotion to the idealistic but revered Ned Stark.]]

* Roz from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' sees everything, can appear anywhere, and ''will'' have your paperwork filed correctly. She's [[spoiler:also the CDA Administrator incognito]].

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has MagnificentBastard Lelouch; not just a master strategist and GuileHero, Lelouch is very good at organizing people, arranging treaties, and creating a coherent, proper army out of a rabble of "freedom fighters". To the point he establishes the ''United Federation of Nations'' in R2. [[spoiler: Then he becomes '''TheEmperor''' and ends up taking over the world.]]

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': When Coulson recruits Melinda May, she's working a desk job she willingly chose to avoid going through the [[NoodleIncident unspecified trauma]] that she suffered in the field earlier.

* Bob "Mr. Incredible" Parr, from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', is this during his brief stint as an insurance claims agent, much to the chagrin of his ObstructiveBureaucrat boss Mr. Huph. When a sweet old lady has her coverage denied, he quickly and covertly rattles off a string of forms and contacts to get her what she needs.

* UsefulNotes/JosefStalin. Monstrous tyrant he was, he was still an accomplished bank robber and a revolutionary, and far more charismatic and intelligent one than his most famous sources portray him as. He used bureaucracy as a springboard to establish an uncontested dictatorship and through both heavy industry buildup and on the bodies of thousands, turned Russia from the least of the Great Powers into one of Earth's two superpowers.

** Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, saved ''thousands'' by filling out visas that allowed Jews to evacuate to Japan. He was recalled in disgrace, but he continued to fill out visas as fast as he could until the very last minute, even flinging them out of the window at the crowd as the train pulled away. Sugihara was a ''vice''-consul, which means in the (highly stratified) Japanese diplomacy he did not have the authority to decide on visas. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara#Lithuania He gave them out in direct violation of his orders from Tokyo]], during the time when powerful Japanese generals had to step carefully to avoid disgrace, execution, or assassination. This is an even more badass act.
** Similarly, UsefulNotes/RaoulWallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved numerous Jews by falsifying paperwork permitting them to enter Sweden, then bought up 32 apartment buildings, filled them with Jewish families, declared them Swedish sovereign territory (much like an embassy or consulate in a foreign country), and pretty much dared the Nazis to stop him. They didn't.

* When WWII broke out, the British Parliament decided to form a national unity government, uniting left and right, Labour and Conservative, in a single executive dedicated to fighting the war effort. At the head, in the office of Prime Minister and providing the face and the quotes, was the irrepressible UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, leader of the Conservatives. The body, however, was definitely UsefulNotes/ClementAttlee, leader of the Labour Party. Where Churchill was flighty, Attlee was steady. Where Churchill was emotional, Attlee had a Vulcan-like analytic mind. Where Churchill was charismatic, Attlee was grey and dull. And yet his organizational skills, essentially centralizing and creating a vast, unified, war machine out of Britain's sprawling Imperial bureacracy, was just as important a contribution to Britain's victory as Churchill's speeches in the Commons.

* [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar The Order of Solomon's Temple]], while famous for their knights deserve mention here. Everyone has heard of the Templar Treasure, but while movies imagine this as hoards of gold or Thor's hammer, the reality is that their funding largely came from investments. By creating one of the most well-established banking and cheque systems in Europe, they were able to establish what was essentially a multinational corporation. By investing the pilgrim's money while they were in the holy land, they were able to receive the interest profits from these investments and amass their own personal endowment that rivaled kingdoms. In reality their eventual purge was little more than a hostile takeover to take control of these assets. All of this while they remained one of Europe's most effective armies.
** To put this into perspective: the king of France was the one to order the Templars put out of business, because the kingdom was so far in debt to them that the order could have taken ''France itself'' in payment.

* ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'''s heroine wants to become a civil servant in an ancient China-esque country; the show focuses much with the internal workings of the State, and most main characters are Badass Bureaucrats of some sorts.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Each of the Emperor's eighteen Primarchs had a specialty that their superhuman prowess was particularly invested in, on top of being superlative warriors. Vulkan and Ferrus Manus were {{Ultimate Blacksmith}}s, Magnus was TheArchmage, and so on. Roboute Guilliman's specialty was administration. Under his leadership, his fiefdom of Ultramar became the most comfortable and prosperous of the Imperium's subdomains, and his Ultramarines were the largest and best-organized of the Legiones Astartes. An early scene in ''[[Literature/HorusHeresy Know No Fear]]'' shows him keeping an eye on logistical problems as they arise on individual warships during a fleet muster of thousands, while at the same time drafting what would become the [[BigBookOfWar Codex Astartes]].

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Each of the Emperor's eighteen Primarchs had a specialty that their superhuman prowess was particularly invested in. Vulkan and Ferris Manus were {{Ultimate Blacksmith}}s, Magnus was TheArchmage, and so on. Roboute Guilliman's specialty was administration. Under his leadership, his fiefdom of Ultramar became the most comfortable and prosperous of the Imperium's subdomains, and his Ultramarines were the largest and best-organized of the Legiones Astartes. An early scene in ''[[Literature/HorusHeresy Know No Fear]]'' shows him keeping an eye on logistical problems as they arise on individual warships during a fleet muster of thousands, while at the same time drafting what would become the [[BigBookOfWar Codex Astartes]].

* [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar The Order of Solomon's Temple]], while famous for their knights deserve mention here. Everyone has heard of the Templar Treasure, but while movies imagine this as hoards of gold or Thor's hammer, the reality is that their funding largely came from investments. By creating one of the most well-established banking and cheque system in Europe, they were able to establish what was essentially a multinational corporation. By investing the pilgrim's money while they were in the holy land, they were able to receive the interest profits from these investments and amass their own personal endowment that rivaled kingdoms. In reality their eventual purge was little more than a hostile takeover to take control of these assets. All of this while they remained one of Europe's most effective armies.

Often found in combination with an AlmightyJanitor and/or SilkHidingSteel. The most effective {{Desk Jockey|s}} can pull this trope off to prove that they're no mere [=REMFs=] to their fellow soldiers. Also see PenPushingPresident.

Often found in combination with an AlmightyJanitor and/or SilkHidingSteel. The most effective DeskJockeys can pull this trope off to prove that they're no mere [=REMFs=] to their fellow soldiers. Also see PenPushingPresident.

Often found in combination with an AlmightyJanitor and/or SilkHidingSteel. The most effective {{DeskJockey|s}} can pull this trope off to prove that they're no mere [=REMFs=] to their fellow soldiers. Also see PenPushingPresident.

Often found in combination with an AlmightyJanitor and/or SilkHidingSteel. Also see PenPushingPresident.

* UsefulNotes/JosefStalin. Whatever else you might think of him, he was a bank robber and a revolutionary, and a far more charismatic and intelligent one than his most famous sources portray him as. He used bureaucracy as a springboard to establishing a personal dictatorship and in turn to annexing most of Eastern Europe and turned Russia from the least of the Great Powers into one of Earth's only two superpowers.

** Alan 'Frank' Foley ran the British Embassy in Nazi Germany. Like Sugihara, he and his staff filled out thousands of visas to help Jews and others escape. It's estimated that he may have saved as many as ''10,000 people.'' And in his free time, he helped set up a spy network for [=MI6=] in the heart of Nazi Germany. When Germany got too dangerous, he retreated to Sweden and served as a radio operator.

-->'''Admiral Rycerz:''' Once we leave there, heading for Dancer space, Macadams won't have any means of communicating with his backers except through me or you approving any message he wants to send on your ships. At that point, Dr. Macadams is login to find his responsibilities redefined in ways that effectively sideline him so the other specialists can actually try to do their jobs.\\