In the movie Hot Fuzz, Nicholas Angel is a super cop. He’s so good at being a police officer that good is a vast understatement. Early in the movie, he gets promoted to sergeant; however, to a backwater perfect village where nothing bad ever happens because in the words of chief inspector “You’re making us look bad.”
So, in essence, he’s been promoted into obscurity to get rid of him.
So question #1: I’m sure this happens in real-life; however, any particularly famous examples?
Now, in the movie, the backwater perfect village isn’t so perfect and Angel busts some criminals in rather spectacular fashion. (I’m understating this somewhat, but despite the warning I’m trying to avoid big spoilers because the movie is awesome and if you’ve not seen it, then you really should)
So question #2: Any example of people being promoted into obscurity but then being even more successful than before?
I tried doing some Googling for this, but mainly what I found who should be famous, based on their accomplishments, but are obscure.
missed the edit. I thought there was another vice president who was pushed into the job by his colleagues who wanted him out of the Senate or something. THey didn’t particularly like him so making him vice president effectively gave him a promotion to get him out of their hair…only to have him become president.
I don’t know if this was Roosevelt or someone else, I’m going upstream against highschool American History class memories from 40 years ago
The story goes that while John F. Kennedy always treated Lyndon Johnson with the utmost respect, Kennedy’s staff did everything they could to isolate him in the backwater that the Vice President had always been in. While Johnson had been important in winning the South in 1960, they hoped to keep him powerless until bringing him out for the 1964 campaign, then shove him back in the corner for Kennedy’s second term. It didn’t work out that way.
Similar for Harry Truman, who Roosevelt ignored right up until FDR’s death.
Julius Caesar, maybe, although it wasn’t exactly a promotion. He had been consul, the highest office in Rome, but was given the governorship of Gaul to get him out of Rome and into the boonies due to conflicts as a result of his year in office. Of course, he parlayed this position into even greater power.