Gowron

For the Full Metal Panic character, see Gauron.

Gowron

Chancellor Gowron
Species	Klingon
Home planet	Qo'noS
Affiliation	Klingon Empire
Position	Chancellor
Portrayed by	Robert O'Reilly

Gowron is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Portrayed by Robert O'Reilly and featured in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. His defining characteristics are his challenging large eyes, his wickedly cruel grin and his distinctive voice.

The Next Generation

Gowron (Klingon - ghawran) first appears in the episode "Reunion" as the main rival of Duras for the succession of the post of Klingon Chancellor K'mpec, who suspects that one of the two had been poisoning him and appoints Captain Jean-Luc Picard as "Arbiter of Succession" to determine who will follow him. Before the arbitration process can be resolved, however, Worf's one-time mate, K'Ehleyr, discovers the evidence that implicates Ja'rod (the father of Duras) in the Romulan attack on the Klingon outpost Khitomer, and to prevent her from disclosing it, Duras murders her. Claiming right of vengeance, Worf challenges Duras to a duel, and kills him, resulting in Gowron's ascension to the Chancellorship.

Gowron reappears in the episode "Redemption", with his position now under threat from the Duras sisters who are driving for Duras's illegitimate son Toral to be appointed Chancellor. It is revealed that the Duras clan has been in league with the Klingons' traditional enemies the Romulans, and their attempt to seize power ends when the Romulans abandon them. Gowron also restores the honor of Worf's house during this episode's events.

Gowron is once more challenged in the episode "Rightful Heir" by the apparently resurrected Kahless the Unforgettable. It is ultimately revealed that this Kahless was in fact a clone, whom Gowron appoints to the symbolic post of Emperor of the Klingon Empire.

Deep Space Nine

Gowron's first appearance in the series is in the episode "The House of Quark". He rules over a dispute of the status of the House of Kozak. Gowron appears prominently in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the episode "The Way of the Warrior", when he launches an assault upon the Cardassian Union, claiming that the newly installed civilian Detapa Council is infested with shapeshifters from the Dominion, a powerful organization from the Gamma Quadrant that is attempting to gain a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant. Gowron once more revokes the honor of Worf's house when he refuses to join him, and attacks Deep Space Nine to capture the Detapa Council. A fragile peace is reached by the end of the episode, with Gowron's infamous warning "We do not forgive, or forget!".

In the episode "Broken Link" Gowron risks a war with the United Federation of Planets, demanding the disputed Archanis sector. Starfleet comes to the conclusion that Gowron is in fact a changeling through faulty information leaked to Odo. Sisko, Odo, Worf and O'Brien infiltrate a Klingon ceremony to try to expose him in the follow-up episode "Apocalypse Rising", but ultimately discover that the changeling is in fact Gowron's top advisor General Martok, who is killed by Gowron's men. In spite of this, Gowron does not change his policies though he agrees to a cease-fire.

In the fifth season two-parter, "In Purgatory's Shadow" and "By Inferno's Light", Gowron restores the broken peace with the Federation in the Khitomer Accords after the Cardassian Union joins the Dominion and the real Martok is rescued from a Dominion prison.

Gowron makes his final appearances in "When It Rains..." and "Tacking Into the Wind", where he assumes direct command of Klingon military forces and launches multiple reckless attacks with minimal success. Worf speculates that this is an attempt to discredit his friend General Martok, who is forced to command many of these doomed offensives. Incensed by such a violation of Klingon honor codes, Worf challenges Gowron and kills him. By all rights, Worf is entitled to assume the leadership of the Empire, but he refuses the Chancellorship in favor of Martok. This is an irony, as it was Worf who had killed Duras to enable Gowron to ascend to the Chancellorship in the first place.

Despite the questionable nature of Gowron's actions towards the end of his life, he does die in honorable combat, as evidenced by Worf's performance of the traditional Klingon death howl (done as a warning to those in Sto-Vo-Kor - the place of the honored dead in Klingon mythology - that a warrior is about to arrive) over the body.

External links

• Gowron at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)