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> Am I wrong to feel slighted when far less capable people have been promoted to leadership positions?

Does your boss know you're interested in a leadership role?

It sounds like you should have a 1 to 1 chat with your boss to express an interest in leadership roles and to ask what you can do in their eyes to demonstrate that readiness.

I would also ask yourself what specifically makes the other person less capable? Speaking personally, I've found that sometimes someone will be promoted due to better soft-skills and/or project management even though their technical skills may be below their peers IMO, which in hindsight can - but not always does - make sense for a management role.

It could be as simple as a misunderstanding where your boss thinks you're more interested in technical-path career advancement instead of a management-path career advancement. Since you mentioned that your boss is trying to acknowledge your work by inviting you out hobnobbing with big-wigs, this seems plausible.