Gowron

"I decide what can and cannot be done."
 * - Gowron, 2375

Gowron, son of M'Rel, was Chancellor of the Klingon High Council in the late 24th century. He ruled during the Klingon Civil War, Klingon-Cardassian War, and the Dominion War. He was killed by Worf in 2375.

Early career
Before 2367, Gowron was a political outsider on the Klingon High Council, who often challenged their decisions. After the death of Chancellor K'mpec, Gowron and Duras, son of Ja'rod became the two leading candidates for leadership of the council. It was suspected that Gowron had in fact poisoned K'mpec to advance his career although many believe that K'mpec was indeed poisoned by Duras.

Duras attempted to kill Gowron during the Rite of Succession, but the attempt failed. Duras was killed by a Starfleet officer, Worf, thus ensuring Gowron's election as chancellor. 

Klingon Civil War
Following Gowron's election, Duras's sisters, Lursa and B'Etor attempted to challenge Gowron's office. They appealed to the High Council to install Toral, the illegitimate son of Duras, as Council leader. The resulting division of loyalty in the council sparked the Klingon Civil War in late 2367. . After a few weeks, Gowron's side was victorious. With the help of the Federation, Duras's family was exposed of having ties with the Romulan Star Empire. In addition, Gowron reinstated the House of Mogh because of the actions of Worf and his brother Kurn coming to his aid in the conflict. 

Later career
In the aftermath of the war, Gowron found it was best to avoid calling attention to the Federation's support during the war. He ordered all official accounts of the events to omit the Federation's involvement, and emphasize his own courage and strategic genius. 

When a clone of Kahless the Unforgettable was created in 2369, Gowron dismissed his right to rule the Empire. He became worried, however, that the clone's existence would plunge the Klingon Empire into another civil war. In order to keep the peace, he agreed to support Kahless as the spiritual leader of his people, while Gowron would remain leader of the Council. 

In 2371, a Klingon named Kozak was killed in an accident at Quark's on Deep Space 9. D'Ghor, posing as Kozak's brother, made a claim before Gowron and the Council to the House of Kozak, but Gowron temporarily transferred leadership of the House of Kozak to Quark, who had secretly married Kozak's widow, Grilka. Together, they proved to Gowron that D'Ghor had dishonored himself by trying to financially ruin Kozak for years. D'Ghor challenged Quark to personal combat, but Quark refused to fight. D'Ghor was about to kill the unarmed Ferengi when Gowron intervened, discommended D'Ghor, proclaimed the House of Kozak would become the House of Grilka and commended the Ferengi for his uncommon bravery. 

Later that year, Commander Sisko theorized that Gowron had sent the Klingon Intelligence agents Atul, Bo'rak and Morka to Deep Space 9 to spy on a Romulan delegation. 

As the cold war between the Dominion and the Alpha Quadrant escalated during the 2370s, Gowron took prominent Klingon General Martok as his military advisor. Martok had secretly been replaced by a Changeling, and used his position to influence Gowron's military decisions. When a civilian revolt took over Cardassia Prime in 2372, Martok spread misinformation that the Cardassian uprising had been supported by the Dominion. He led Gowron to believe that the civilian-led Detapa Council had been replaced by Changelings. Seeking to protect the Empire, Gowron ordered the invasion of the Cardassian Union. The move was condemned by the Federation Council, and Gowron withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, ending the decades long alliance with the Federation. 

The invasion was largely a failure, however Gowron declared victory in order to avoid assassination attempts. He fortified his positions in Cardassian space and continued expanding the borders of the Empire. He also ordered several attacks on Romulan targets on the Klingon-Romulan border. 

In late 2372, Gowron demanded that the Federation withdraw from the Archanis sector, in particular Archanis IV. During this time, the Dominion planted false information in Starfleet through Odo that Gowron, not Martok, was a Changeling spy. 

Starfleet sent a team to Klingon military headquarters on Ty'Gokor to expose Gowron. Eventually they discovered that Martok was, in fact, the Changeling, and Gowron's men killed it. 

After the Cardassians joined the Dominion in 2373, Gowron reinstated the Khitomer Accords, and posted a permanent contingent of Klingon officers on the Cardassian border at station Deep Space 9, commanded, ironically, by the real Martok. 

The Dominion War
In early 2374, Gowron was reluctant to involve the Empire in Operation Return. However, he was later persuaded to assist Captain Sisko's forces by Martok and Worf. The late arrival of the Klingon fleet proved critical in the battle, throwing the Dominion lines into disarray and allowed the Defiant to break through. 

Several months later, the Dominion and the Orion Syndicate used Gowron's feud with the Klingon ambassador to Farius Prime in an attempt to bring down the Treaty of Alliance. Gelnon and Raimus hoped that by having Liam Bilby, Krole and Flith assassinate the ambassador with Klingon weapons it would look like Gowron had ordered the pro-Dominion ambassador's execution. 

Gowron played a role, albeit unknowingly, in bringing the Romulan Star Empire into the war against the Dominion. In late 2374, Captain Sisko contacted Gowron and asked him to issue a formal pardon to Grathon Tolar, who was needed by Sisko and Elim Garak to forge a holorecording. Early in 2375, both Worf and Martok planned to speak to Gowron, to see if he could find Kor a fitting assignment on Qo'noS. 

Martok's actions in the war had made him a prominent figure throughout the Empire and was regarded by the Klingon people as their savior. Threatened by Martok's growing political influence, Gowron took direct control of the Klingon Defense Force in 2375, and began to undermine Martok's military strategies. 

Martok refused to challenge Gowron after such dishonorable actions. Instead Gowron was challenged by a member of Martok's house, Worf. Worf defeated Gowron in combat, killing him, and passed the leadership of the High Council to Martok. Despite his disapproval of Gowron's actions, Worf performed the Klingon death ritual for him, acknowledging the former Chancellor as a Klingon warrior. 

Worf recalled fighting Gowron for the leadership of the Empire before leaving Deep Space 9 to take up his post as Martok's Federation's ambassador. 

Memorable Quotes
"You will die slowly, Duras."

"K'mpec was also stubborn. He, too, refused to listen. Now... he is gone. You need not make the same mistake."
 * - to K'Ehleyr

"The grasp of Duras reaches up from the grave!"

"Are you blind to what they represent? Then go... your blood will paint the way to the future."

"What are you Worf? Do you tremble and quake with fear at the approach of combat, hoping to talk your way out of a fight like a Human? Or do you hear the cry of the warrior, calling you to battle, calling you to glory like a Klingon?"

"You have made many enemies, Worf. Fortunately, I am not one of them!"

" What kind of fools do you have working for you Picard?"

"What was his name? If you were really there, you should be able to tell us the name of the man who stood outside the walls.  Describe him to us.  How tall was he? What was he wearing?!? What color... were his EYES!?!"

"Kahless has been dead for a thousand years; but the idea of Kahless is still alive. Have you ever fought an idea, Picard? It has no weapon to destroy, no body to kill. The idea of Kahless's return must be stopped here and now - or it will travel through the Empire like a wave, and leave nothing but destruction behind."

"It's time for me to take a more active role in this war. As of today, I'm assuming direct command of our forces."

"I decide what can and cannot be done."
 * - to Worf

"I should've known better than to trust you again. If you were a true Klingon, I would kill you where you stand! Fortunately for you, that child's uniform shields you from your rightful fate."
 * - to Worf

"The Klingon Empire will remember what has happened here. You have sided against us in battle. And this we do not forgive...or forget!"

"You will not have this... day..."
 * - His last words

"Think of it. Five years ago no one had ever heard of Bajor or Deep Space 9. Now all our hopes rest here. Where the tides of fortune take us, no man can know."



Background
Actor Robert O'Reilly believed he was cast in the role by "Reunion" director Jonathan Frakes partly because of "that crazy loon eyeball thing, but he saw also a sense of humor, and he has one of the great senses of humor of all time. I think that created a curiosity in him and he wanted to see more of me."

O'Reilly had been cast as Gowron after performing as in a production of King Lear, and this influenced his approach to the character. "I thought it absolutely fit. Remember, the way Gowron came in is not the way he went out. He went out as this bad, terrible Klingon, which I disagreed with strongly, but that's fine. But the earlier part of Gowron's arc, he was the outsider, the only one with honor, and he was sort of a crazed warrior who did not want to be anywhere near 'hew-mons.' So it started off very, very differently. If you take the point of view of Edmund, he’s the outsider. He’s the 'bastard', just out there and not part of the group, and then he decides to defeat everybody and become head of the group."

Apocrypha
The Enhanced First Contact expansion of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game shows a card where, in an alternate universe, Gowron, not Picard, was assimilated by the Borg. His name was simply "Gowron of Borg".

Gowron also appeared (in character) in a Hallmark Keepsake ornament commercial filmed on the promoting the Klingon Bird-of-Prey ornament.

His mirror universe counterpart is mentioned as being a colonel in the service of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in the novel The Mirror-Scaled Serpent. A firm opponent of inter-species breeding, he sent a $𝜇$ slave to assassinate B'Elanna, the half-Klingon, half-Terran Supervisor of Ardana. The slave was unsuccessful and was killed himself by B'Elanna's personal aide Kate Janeway. He later appeared in the short story "For Want of a Nail" contained in the anthology Shards and Shadows, in which he was killed by Duras.