Nute Gunray

Nute Gunray is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe.

He was a Neimoidian from the planet Neimoidia, an amphibian-faced humanoid with snake-like eyes. Neimoidians are cunning political manipulators, but they are also untrustworthy and cowardly.

Gunray became the Viceroy of the Trade Federation after the original Trade Federation leaders perished under mysterious circumstances, Gunray being the only survivor. Under the guidance of the enigmatic Darth Sidious, Gunray filled the remaining positions with his associates, making the Trade Federation a Neimoidian monopoly.

Under Sidious' command, Gunray blockaded the peaceful planet Naboo from trade routes. He urged the young queen, Padmé Amidala, to sign a treaty granting the Trade Federation control over the planet. The Queen refused, and when Gunray took the planet by force with his battle droids, she escaped with the aid of two Jedi.

After unsuccessfully pleading for intervention by the Old Republic Senate, Amidala called for the expulsion of Chancellor Finis Valorum, who was unable to outtalk the Trade Federation's Neimodian representative. Naboo's own Senator Palpatine was elected the new Chancellor.

Despite this, the Senate still would not take action, and Amidala returned home, vowing to liberate her planet or die trying. Gunray was smug in his seeming invincibility, but his reign fell apart rather quickly. The young Queen and her army ambushed and captured him in the palace, and the droid army was disabled when a boy named Anakin Skywalker destroyed the central control ship. Gunray was arrested for his actions, but only Darth Sidious knew the true motives behind the invasion.

After four trials in the Republic Supreme Court, Gunray still maintained control over the Trade Federation, although several of his associates were killed in the Battle of Naboo. Sidious then instructed Gunray to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems, who wished to secede from the Republic. Soon the Trade Federation's resources were focused on creating a droid army for the CIS to strong-arm smaller systems to join them. He refused to sign Count Dooku's treaty until Amidala's head lay on his desk.

When Amidala and two Jedi were captured on the CIS's base on Geonosis, Gunray saw his chance for revenge, and delighted when the former Queen was sentenced to death. To his fury, she escaped once again, and Gunray was barely able to flee for his own life in the melee between battle droids, Jedi Knights, and clone troopers. The Clone Wars had begun, and Gunray suddenly found himself preparing his droids for war. Gunray was a businessman, not a warmaster, but there was no way he could break his ties with the CIS without losing his life. Gunray's ultimate fate has yet to be revealed. In Revenge of the Sith he is one of the members of the Confederacy who was destroyed by Anakin now the Emperor's executor who became Darth Vader.

Nute Gunray appears in the movies The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Nute Gunray was played by Silas Carson.

Nute Gunray's presence has prompted various theories into the political leanings of George Lucas. Some are harmless such as the fact that Gunray's name has been interpeted as a amalgam of Newt Gingrich and Ronald Reagan. Another, more innocent, theory suggests that Gunray's first name is a pun on the word newt and his last name is a reversal of ray gun. On the other hand, some of these leanings are more severe (see Neimoidian for more information.)