History Main / CorruptBureaucrat

* A bureaucrat is about too get robbed. "Give me all your money!" yells the robber. "I don't have any," says the bureaucrat, "I'm a civil servant." "Alright..." sneers the robber, "then give me all of ''my'' money!"

We've all heard about them: Lazy, incompetent, always ''passing the buck'', and more than willing to accept a bribe to "speed things up". This character type exists somewhere in the overlap between {{Punch Clock Villain}}s and {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s. They are only lazy and incompetent when it [[NoDelaysForTheWicked prevents them]] from getting any work done, however. If someone threatens their position or privileges, they forget about laziness and incompetence and become relentless in abusing their power. They are not above committing murder itself, of crossing the MoralEventHorizon, if their cushy jobs are at risk or they have the object of their ambition within reach.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' goes out on a limb to show you that, even with the sword, horses and siege engines... a medieval-based aristocracy is basically this with titles and bloodshed alongside the paperwork, wax-seals and under-the-table deals. Greasing palms, favours given and received, marriages to seal deals, promissory notes instead of here-and-now taxation (with a cut for you for your trouble) -- it all greases the wheels and gets things kind of done. As long as everybody knows the tune and can at least look like they're dancing along. But, some are more willing to use or abuse the system than others. Isn't that right, Houses Lannister, Tyrell, Bolton and Frey? Or Littlefinger and Varys, if you want less corporate entities willing to corrupt up the bureaucracy nicely. The problem is: when somebody reneges on their deals (or, is only inferred to have done)... it can get very, very violent well beyond a sternly worded letter delivered by black wings.

->''"Enter '''the bureaucrat''': the true rulers of the Republic. And on the payroll of the Trade Federation, I might add. This is where Chancellor Valorum's strength will disappear."''
-->-- '''[[TheChessmaster Senator Palpatine]]''', '''''Film/ThePhantomMenace'''''

* Louis in {{Casablanca}} is a mild version.
* The main antagonist of ''Film/{{Leviathan2014}}'' is a mayor of a northern Russian town, who is seeking to seize the protagonist's home and land.

* In MichaelFlynn's ''[[Literature/SpiralArm The January Dancer]]'', running an honest administration causes a revolt because they expect favors, too. (They do insist on your doing the job you accepted a bribe for, though.)

* In ''[[TheEschatonSeries Iron Sunrise]]'', Madam Chairman initially appears to be a SmugSnake ObstructiveBureaucrat with a pathological inability to believe Rachel isn't doing something wrong, ''somehow''. She turns out to be [[spoiler: part of the ANaziByAnyOtherName group Rachel's been fighting]].

* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' goes out on a limb to show you that, even with the sword, horses and siege engines... a medieval-based aristocracy is basically this with titles and bloodshed alongside the paperwork, wax-seals and under-the-table deals. Greasing palms, favours given and received, marriages to seal deals, promissory notes instead of here-and-now taxation (with a cut for you for your trouble) -- it all greases the wheels and gets things kind of done. As long as everybody knows the tune and can at least look like they're dancing along. But, some are more willing to use or abuse the system than others. Isn't that right, Houses Lannister, Tyrell, Bolton and Frey? Or Littlefinger and Varys, if you want less corporate entities willing to corrupt up the bureaucracy nicely. The problem is: when somebody reneges on their deals (or, is only inferred to have done)... it can get very, very violent well beyond a sternly worded letter delivered by black wings.

->''"Enter '''the bureaucrat''': the true rulers of [[TheRepublic the Republic]]. And on the payroll of [[MegaCorp the Trade Federation]], I might add. This is where [[TheGoodChancellor Chancellor Valorum's]] strength will disappear."''

* In [[Literature/HallowMass]], Armand Deale, the President of Miskatonic University, accepts a massive bribe from Obed Whateley to help him recover the Necronomicon. He then conceals this information from his faculty, portraying his actions as motivated by nothing but a desire for social justice.

* ''VideoGame/SenNoKiseki'' Jusis Albarea's father is this. This is to prevent him from getting exposed. So he uses area Provincial soldiers to do his bidding. [[spoiler:He even used their butler to place his son under house arrest and used the Kreuzen army to put Machias in prison]]

* ''VideoGame/SenNoKiseki'' Jusis Albarea's father is this. This is to prevent him from getting exposed. So he uses area Provincial soldiers to do his bidding.

* Beautifully averted in ''LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes''. At one point, [[spoiler:the Galactic Empire has essentially conquered the Free Planets Alliance but has granted it a degree of autonomy. When imperial officers attempt to get anything done,]] mid-level Alliance bureaucrats block progress by faithfully sticking to rules and regulations rather than caving to pressure. [[spoiler:Reinhard]] commends them for this, openly wondering if the Alliance would be a different place had they been in positions of greater influence and power.

-->-- '''[[TheChessmaster Senator Palpatine]]''', '''''ThePhantomMenace'''''

* Many of the ministers of ''{{Jade Empire}}'' would certainly qualify, as they are lazy, always accepting bribes, and offering protection to slavers and criminal gangs.

->''"Enter the bureaucrat: the true rulers of [[TheRepublic the Republic]]. And on the payroll of [[MegaCorp the Trade Federation]], I might add. This is where [[TheGoodChancellor Chancellor Valorum's]] strength will disappear."''
-->-- '''Senator Palpatine''', '''''ThePhantomMenace'''''

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
* [[Literature/TalesFromTheMosEisleyCantina Feltipern Trevagg]] created new tariffs to line his own pockets, including on the water -- on a kriffing desert planet. [[spoiler:The barve ends up dead with [[IncrediblyLamePun delicious]] irony]].

We have heard about them: Lazy, incompetent, always ''passing the buck'' and more than willing to accept a bribe to "speed things up". This character type exists somewhere in the overlap between {{Punch Clock Villain}}s and {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s. And are only lazy and incompetent up to the point that it [[NoDelaysForTheWicked prevents them]] from getting any work done, however, when someone or something threatens their position or privileges, they forget everything about laziness and incompetence and become relentless in abusing their power, as they would not be above committing murder itself, of crossing the MoralEventHorizon. This can also happen if they have the object of their ambition within grasp.

This type of villain usually does not belong to the [[AristocratsAreEvil aristocracy]] or get his power from [[CorruptCorporateExecutive money or businesses]], instead his power comes from a position on the government (usually obtained through personal favors rather than merits and/or hard work). Compare DirtyCop.

In some variants, he will accept a bribe in order to illegally hasten things or do other "favors."

* [[spoiler: Judge Hotah]] in Book 2 of ''TheLegendOfKorra.''

* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' goes out on a limb to show you that, even with the sword, horses and siege engines... a medieval-based aristocracy is basically this with titles and bloodshed alongside the paperwork, wax-seals and under-the-table deals. Greasing palms, favours given and received, marriages to seal deals, promissory notes instead of here-and-now taxation (with a cut for you for your trouble) -- it all greases the wheels and gets things kind of done. As long as everybody knows the tune and can at least look like they're dancing along. But, some are more willing to use or abuse the system than others. Isn't that right, Houses Lannister, Bolton and Frey? Or Littlefinger and Varys, if you want less corporate entities. The problem is: when somebody reneges on their deals (or, is only inferred to have done)... it can get very, very violent well beyond a sternly worded letter delivered by black wings.