7 Worst Politicians In Doctor Who

Across the character's many regenerations, the Doctor has held various positions of political power. The Twelfth Doctor became President Of Earth on a few different occasions, and in The Invasion Of Time, the Fourth Doctor returns to Gallifrey and claims the title of President, giving him rule over his home world.

Normally though, the Doctor doesn't tend to abuse the power that these positions grant. Sure, in The Invasion Of Time, the Fourth Doctor does use his presidency to help the Vardans invade Gallifrey, but ultimately, he's only doing this to try and stop them. On the other hand, things are a lot different in Hell Bent, where the Twelfth Doctor uses his power for wholly selfish reasons, leaving a trail of chaos in his wake.

In this story, the Doctor overthrows Rassilon to become Lord President Of Gallifrey, earning the respect and trust of the Time Lord General in the process. In reality though, the Doctor doesn't care about the Time Lords, about Gallifrey, about being an actual leader: all he wants to do is bring Clara back to life.

To that end, he exploits the Time Lords' fear of the Hybrid so that they'll help him access an extraction chamber, where he pulls Clara out of her death, an act that, according to the General, could "fracture time itself". Not a great start, Doc. Speaking of the General, the Doctor then shoots him, runs off with Clara, steals a TARDIS (again), and flies away, leaving Gallifrey in a worse position than he found it.

The Doctor wasn't president for very long here, but he sure did leave an impact - and not a good impact - during his brief time in office.