History Main / ReluctantRuler

* In the John [=DeChancie=] science fiction comedy book, ''Living with Aliens'', it is revealed that all of galactic civilization runs on this premise. TheFederation figured out that people who want power should never have it. Their solution is to find the people who want to be rulers the least and ''force'' them, against their wills, to rule over the galaxies. This leads to them running away constantly and spending all their time getting high and abducting people from earth to molest and probe them for fun.

** [[spoiler:Bartholomew Kuma's backstory reveals that, after he ousted [[TheCaligula King Bekori]] from power, the people of the Sorbet Kingdom practically begegd him to become their new king. Being the kindhearted man that he was, Kuma was unable to refuse, but [[TakeAThirdOption compromised by becoming a figurehead ruler]] while Bekori's predecessor, [[TheGoodKing King Bulldog]], took the job of actually running the kingdom for him, as Kuma was all too aware that he would make a poor king.]]

--->"I swear, it's like running a kindergarten."
** It's worse for poor Klaus. He was the only one left after the Heterodyne Boys disappeared, their world was starting to unravel, all the work his friends had done was being undone. So... [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040806 He fixed it.]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist His way.]] [[TheExtremistWasRight And it worked.]]

** King Riku of Dressrosa, in backstory, was the previous king before Donquixote Doflamingo launched a takeover. After Doflamingo is disposed of, Riku is reluctant to take back the throne because he's worried that his peaceful policies are what made the kingdom vulnerable to the pirate's schemes in the first place.

{{Cincinnatus}} is a SubTrope about a character who is given ''temporary'' power because it is believed he will give it back after accomplishing his task. TheCreon is another Sub Trope, as he will be downright ''anxious'' to give up power if he is ever thrust into the top spot. Also related to TheChainsOfCommanding. Compare MandatoryUnretirement, IJustWantToBeNormal and ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne. Contrast UnfitForGreatness and LeaderWannabe. If someone ends up in charge during a crisis, it might be a case of YouAreInCommandNow. If they're demoted because of this, they'll be GracefullyDemoted.

* As far back as the Silver Age, ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} wanted nothing to do with ruling and only agreed to be elected ruler to prevent a civil war. When the strain of being a superhero and king got to be too much, especially with would-be usurpers, he abdicated the throne and left it to Vulko.

* In ''Comicbook/SupermanRedSon'', Superman disliked the idea of being the new [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] after Stalin's death, since he thinks that having someone as privileged as him, being Superman AND the adopted son of the ruler of the Soviet Union, as the new ruler of the party would be in complete opposition with what the Communist Ideology is about.
* One of the ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' ''[[ComicBook/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast1992 Legend of Zelda]]'' comics reveals this to be true about the King of Hyrule. Despite being a fair and competent ruler, the King's true dream was to be an adventurer like Link, but he was a prince, and a prince has to stay home and train to take up the reins of kingship one day.

* Pope Benedict XVI may not have ever wanted to be Pope, claiming publicly that he prayed he would never gain the position. Unfortunately for him, in the Roman Catholic Church, one oath ''all'' priests must swear to upon becoming ordained is to be willing to accept the position if selected. He ultimately became the first pope in nearly ''six hundred years'' to resign, the last to do so having been Gregory XII in 1415 -- and that was forced upon him in order to resolve the schism created by the Avignon Papacy. (He was the first to resign under his own volition since Celestine V in 1294.)

* Jake is made leader of the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' at the start of the series, despite the fact that he is less than enthusiastic about taking on the role. Much of his angst comes from the [[TheChainsOfCommanding constant pressures of leadership.]]

* ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' has twice found himself being nominated for the position of the Chief Judge, and therefore his city's sole ruler. Barring perhaps the Titan penal colony, it's the very last place in the universe where he'd ever like to be.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

*** Vir himself was reluctant to take on the position of Emperor after all the death and destruction the Drakh caused before deciding that he had to in order to stabalize the Centauri.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain:'' Fflewddur Fflam is the ruler of a postage-stamp-sized kingdom, but would much rather roam around as a bard.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** Prince Clovis is a dark version of this. He's a painter, not a warrior or politician, and he wanted nothing to do with that sort of work, even though that made his family [[TheUnfavorite seriously look down on him]]. But then, his younger brother Lelouch, who he secretly admired, was ([[HesJustHiding supposedly]]) killed in the invasion of Japan, and Clovis thought he should accept the role of Viceroy to honor him. Advised by his older brother and sister that "a soft heart is not a virtue", he attempts to become the sort of ruthless Viceroy the other Britannians would want him to be, under the mistaken belief that Lelouch would want that, too. By the time we see him at the beginning of the series, several years later, he's completely fallen into that to the point where Lelouch wants nothing more than to kill ''him'' - and does, in the first few episodes.
** Said brother is an interesting variation of it. Lelouch flat out rejects the DecadentCourt of Britannia and gets exiled for his troubles. Which leads him into being the powerful RebelLeader Zero who sets himself up as leader of all Japan by the end of the first season before things go to hell. However, ''R2'' sees him greatly reducing his power and putting others in charge of actually ruling the world while he focuses on military matters. [[spoiler: Though he does end up Emperor of Britannia, he only rules for a few months before his [[ZeroApprovalGambit Zero]] [[ThanatosGambit Requiem]] ends with him dead.]] The implication is that Lelouch will lead when someone ''has'' to do something to better the world, which he references when he first brings up restoring Japan as a nation back in season 1; that if they don't do it, who will? In short, he's a ReluctantRuler with a sense of responsibility.

** In general, this is {{Deconstructed}} by the series. Rulers who don't want to rule don't always have a sense of duty to compensate for lack of incentive to govern well, or even at all. For every Stannis Baratheon, there are many more [[AdiposeRex Robert Baratheon]]s or [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Tytos Lannister]]s. Say what you will about [[EvilChancellor Tywin Lannister]], but he actually wanted power, and so he used it well.

** Historians have amended this view to some extent, they stated that Washington was quite ambitious about his career and business interests. Creator/GoreVidal noted that Washington not having much of an acumen for constitutional statecraft (he left that to Madison, Hamilton, and Jefferson) had initially hoped for retirement but fears of competing political interests, his great celebrity (people came from across the world to meet him), led him to take on the Presidency to consolidate the young Republic.
** In general, the Founding Fathers tried to project an image of reluctance or humility towards power and positions as a sort of tradition, as a way to hide their political ambitions and project republican virtue (in the Roman sense). Privately, all of them were fairly ambitious wheeler-dealers, and they (Jefferson and Hamilton among others) got much mileage attacking their opponents for being ambitious and grabby for power while they, in their [[SarcasmMode opinion that is]] ''[[SarcasmMode totally]]'' [[SarcasmMode objective]], are pure as snow.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', [[spoiler:Hinoka]] becomes this at the end of the ''[[spoiler:Conquest]]'' route. [[spoiler:She never saw herself as queen material, but since everyone ahead of her for the title of heir apparent is ''dead'', and the only other person who can realistically take the throne is, well, ''[[ShrinkingViolet Sakura]]'', she's in no position to refuse.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Rhea never wanted to lead the Church; [[spoiler:she only ever intended to be a temporary guide for humanity until her mother returned.]] Just before the {{time skip}}, she reveals to the player that [[spoiler:she intends to make Byleth her successor to the Church and, on routes that she survives, she follows through on handing the reins of the Church over to Byleth.]]

* One of the ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' ''[[ComicBook/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Legend of Zelda]]'' comics reveals this to be true about the King of Hyrule. Despite being a fair and competent ruler, the King's true dream was to be an adventurer like Link, but he was a prince, and a prince has to stay home and train to take up the reins of kingship one day.

* Nineteen-years-old Emperor Ryuuki in ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku''. Growing up as [[TheUnfavourite the youngest of six princes]], he [[UnexpectedSuccessor found himself on the throne]] after his second eldest brother was exiled and the other princes were executed for starting a bloody succession war. He [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts dumb and plays up his attraction to men]] and desperately waits for his exiled brother to return to take the throne. However, his subordinates [[spoiler: and said brother]] have none of that.

* In ''LightNovel/RecordOfGrancrestWar'':

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Saber hates having been made king, having never wanted it but doing it anyway for the good of her people. She did the best anyone could, but her dislike of being king at all (and the ensuing lack of drive) meant she was never well-loved by her followers or her people, and the DirtyBusiness she was forced to do as a king eventually led to her kingdom tearing itself apart (not helped at all by the machinations of [[CainAndAbel her older sister]], who felt that ''she'' should have been the ruler were it not for their father and his advisor's actions passing her over for Saber, leading her to try and ruin Saber and the kingdom out of envy). She wants the Grail so she can wish for [[HeroicSelfDeprecation a better king to take her place in history]]. In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', Rider delivers what is effectively a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to her about it, claiming that her lack of desire for kingship meant she was never truly a king, just a "young girl playing at being a king".

* In ''Fanfic/TheVow'', after [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2 Lord Shen's]] father dies, he passes the stewardship of Gongmen City to [[SwansASwimming Lady Lianne]], Shen's former fiancée. She's not quite willing to rule the city, feeling it to be a form of betrayal towards Shen and his family, but the citizens hold a great deal of respect for [[ShoutOut the swan]] [[WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess princess]] known for her beauty and kindness. She offers the city's stewardship for the Masters' Council, but they refuse it out of respect. It's arranged that Lianne governs and rules the city, while the Masters serve as protectors and advisers. For the next twenty years, [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Lianne keeps Gongmen City in the state of peace and prosperity while suffering for the past]]. She sleeps in her old guestroom instead of the rulers' bedchamber and never uses the high lord's throne, considering herself to be merely a temporary holder of the reins of power until the true ruler returns.

* A variation is seen in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' when Palpatine is reluctant to accept the [[EmergencyAuthority emergency wartime powers]] granted to him by the Senate. [[spoiler:[[MagnificentBastard No, he isn't.]]]]

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', [[spoiler:Hinoka]] becomes this at the end of the ''[[spoiler:Conquest]]'' route. [[spoiler:She never saw herself as queen material, but since everyone ahead of her for the title of heir apparent is ''dead'', and the only other person who can realistically take the throne is, well, ''[[ShrinkingViolet Sakura]]'', she's in no position to refuse.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Rhea never wanted to lead the Church; [[spoiler:she only ever intended to be a temporary guide for humanity until her mother returned.]] Just before the {{time skip}}, she reveals to the player that [[spoiler:she intends to make Byleth her successor to the Church and, on routes that she survives, she follows through on handing the reins of the Church over to Byleth.]]

* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', Arthéon succeeded to Master Zen after he stopped playing not as much because he wanted to be Guild Master as because the two other members of the guild were a ManChild and a [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]] guy who is convinced that letting female players into the guild can only weaken it.

* ''Literature/HeroicsForBeginners'' mentions that this trope is why the people of Rassendas want to keep the country a monarchy. A royal heir might be good or bad at ruling, but either is preferable to the morass of conflict that competitors would have to navigate if the country's leader was ''chosen''. When a lot of people compete for power, the one who wins it [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority will be]] the most sneaky and backstabby of them all- the person who can ''least'' be trusted with it.

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Literature/{{Beowulf}} never wanted to be a king, preferring the life of a wandering warrior and hero, but when his liege's line died out, he took control and ruled ably and well even into his old age before dying heroically saving them from a dragon. Unlike Saber, Beowulf never regretted being a king because as much as he disliked it personally, [[ComesGreatResponsibility he knew he had the ability to do it well and so he did]]. In the first Lostbelt, he takes charge of a Yaga village and manages to change their way of life for the better, to the point that when he prepares to live to aid Chaldea they ''beg'' him to stay. He in turn tells them the true test of his rule will be how [[DareToBeBadass they're able to live up to the lessons he taught them]].

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Literature/Beowulf never wanted to be a king, preferring the life of a wandering warrior and hero, but when his liege's line died out, he took control and ruled ably and well even into his old age before dying heroically saving them from a dragon. Unlike Saber, Beowulf never regretted being a king because as much as he disliked it personally, [[ComesGreatResponsibility he knew he had the ability to do it well and so he did]]. In the first Lostbelt, he takes charge of a Yaga village and manages to change their way of life for the better, to the point that when he prepares to live to aid Chaldea they ''beg'' him to stay. He in turn tells them the true test of his rule will be how [[DareToBeBadass they're able to live up to the lessons he taught them]].