Who Rules The Klingons? 11 Chancellors In Star Trek Explained

In Star Trek, the true political leader of the Klingon Empire is not the Emperor, but the Klingon High Chancellor. No High Chancellor was mentioned in Star Trek: The Original Series, because the inner workings of Klingon government weren't seen until Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father", and the title wasn't established until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Star Trek: Enterprise showed the Klingons were governed by a Chancellor even further back in the Star Trek timeline.

The Klingon Emperor is the head of state, possessing only a symbolic cultural power, whereas the Klingon High Chancellor's power comes from being the leader of the High Council, the governing body of the Klingon Empire. Unlike the democratic United Federation of Planets, the Klingon High Council is an oligarchy, with its members representing the most powerful Klingon Houses. As such, the Chancellor is not voted into the role, but must win the title in the Rite of Succession. Challengers may vie for the Chancellor's seat if it's vacant, or a warrior may become Chancellor by besting the current Chancellor in personal combat.

Here are the 11 known Klingon High Chancellors in Star Trek thus far:

11Chancellor Mow'ga

Referenced In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Mow'ga was an early Chancellor of the Second Empire who attempted to conquer the Breen. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 18, "'Til Death Do Us Part", Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) brings up Mow'ga's failed campaign to emphasize how dangerous the Breen are.

By referring to Mow'ga as a Chancellor, Worf confirms that Chancellor and Emperor were two separate roles within the Klingon Empire in an era long before Star Trek: The Original Series.

10Unnamed Chancellor (Peter Henry Schroeder)

Star Trek: Enterprise (late 2140s – 2151)

In the 22nd century, Klingon customs are so inscrutable to Starfleet that even the name of the Klingon Chancellor in Star Trek: Enterprise's premiere episode, "Broken Bow", is never revealed to us. So Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) doesn't realize the Chancellor definitely isn't thanking Archer for bringing Klingon warrior Klaang (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Jr.) back to Q'onoS.

Returning Klaang as a prisoner—which seals his disgrace, instead of giving him an honorable death—is the first indication, chronologically, that wildly different philosophies will lead to many of Star Trek's wars involving conflict between the Klingons and Starfleet.

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9Unnamed Chancellor (Dan Desmond)

Star Trek: Enterprise (2153)

The identity of the Klingon Chancellor in Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 26, "The Expanse", is ambiguous. This Klingon Chancellor wants to see Jonathan Archer dead after the Captain of the Enterprise escaped the Klingons twice. Although played by a different actor, the Chancellor in "The Expanse" could have been intended to be the same character as the previous unnamed Chancellor. He may also be Chancellor M'Rek, named later in Enterprise, or a third character. There just isn't enough information about Star Trek: Enterprise's Klingon Chancellors to definitively say.

8Chancellor M'Rek

Star Trek: Enterprise (2154)

Star Trek: Enterprise's other Klingon Chancellors were seen but not named, while Chancellor M'Rek was named, but not seen. It's possible that M'Rek was the sole Klingon Chancellor throughout Star Trek: Enterprise, and Archer simply didn't refer to M'Rek by name before Star Trek: Enterprise season 4—possibly because Archer didn't know it.

But if there were actually 3 different Klingon Chancellors over the course of 3 years, that kind of turnover would indicate the unrest and division prevalent among the Klingon Houses in Star Trek: Discovery's 23rd century is already fomenting, a century earlier.

7Chancellor L'Rell (Mary Chieffo)

Star Trek: Discovery (2257 onward)

Chancellor L'Rell gained her position as head of the Klingon High Council through strategy, rather than direct personal combat or a ritual, and L'Rell initially preferred to operate in the shadows instead of as an official leader. As a follower of T'Kuvma (Chris Obi), L'Rell believed the Klingon Houses should unite as one power, instead of succumbing to discord and infighting. T'Kuvma named Voq (Shazad Latif), not L'Rell, as the next Head of House, but L'Rell still worked to achieve T'Kuvma's goals through deception and subterfuge, like manipulating Voq into spying on the Federation by becoming Ash Tyler.

While T'Kuvma wanted to unite the Klingon Houses by inciting war with the Federation, L'Rell's beliefs in Klingon purity were challenged by her dealings with the Federation. Specialist Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) made it possible for L'Rell to become Chancellor by giving L'Rell the means to detonate the bombs placed throughout Qo'noS. As a result, L'Rell faced pushback from Kol-Sha (Kenneth Mitchell), who staged a coup against L'Rell that ultimately failed. After the attempted coup, L'Rell began calling herself "Mother of the Klingon Empire", cementing her status as High Chancellor, even against those who would oppose her.

6Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (until 2293)

Unlike the Klingons of Star Trek: The Original Series and earlier Star Trek movies, Chancellor Gorkon actively sought peace between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets. While Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was skeptical that true peace could be achieved between their people, Chancellor Gorkon still made strong moves to make that peace a reality. Gorkon's efforts were strongly opposed by certain parties within the Klingon Empire, however, and Gorkon was assassinated while en route to Khitomer, where the peace talks would take place.

Chancellor Gorkon was a visionary who became a target because he was a threat to long-held beliefs on both sides. Both the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire would have to dismantle their prejudices about each other to truly achieve peace. Sharing a meal with Captain Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and other Enterprise crew members was an important step in sincerely reaching across the aisle. Gorkon cut through the long-held tensions between people on both sides of the dinner table with a toast to "the undiscovered country: the future".

5Chancellor Azetbur (Rosana DeSoto)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293 onward)

Chancellor Azetbur became High Chancellor after the death of her father, Chancellor Gorkon. Like Gorkon, Azetbur believed in pursuing peace between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, and took Gorkon's place in the peace talks that resulted in the Khitomer Accords.

While Azetbur's reign as High Chancellor isn't well-documented, the relatively good relations between the Klingon Empire and the Federation in Star Trek: The Next Generation could be attributed to Azetbur working to maintain the peace that her father spearheaded.

4Chancellor K'mpec (Charles Cooper)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (until 2367)

As the longest-serving Klingon Chancellor, K'mpec prioritized keeping peace among the Klingon Houses—or at least the appearance of it—over serving justice. In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father", K'mpec cleverly pinned the Khitomer Massacre betrayal on Worf's father, Mogh, instead of bringing dishonor to the House of Duras (Patrick Massett). When Worf did show up to defend Mogh, K'mpec rewarded Worf with discommendation instead of death. These strategic machinations within the Council proved that K'mpec valued the Empire's image above all, even if he had to bury secrets to do it.

K'mpec's tight rein on the Klingon High Council slowly diminished, and in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 7, "Reunion", his bloodwine was slowly poisoned. According to tradition, the murderer of the current Chancellor would rise to power, but K'mpec believed a Klingon capable of resorting to a dishonorable weapon like poison would also be poison to the Klingon Empire. To preserve the honor of the Empire, K'mpec trusted Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as the Arbiter of Succession, because Picard's ethics would ensure K'mpec's successor would not be a cowardly poisoner.

3Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly)

Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2367 – 2375)

Gowron succeeded Chancellor K'mpec by default when his only opponent, Duras, was killed by Worf as retribution for Duras murdering Ambassador K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson). Gowron was initially backed by Picard—and thus, the Federation—but ultimately, ​​​​​​​Gowron used his position as Chancellor to serve his own best interests and inflate his ego. Gowron's propaganda painted him as a singular champion of the Klingon Empire, to the point that Gowron even altered historical records to erase the Federation's part in Gowron winning the Klingon Civil War.

Chancellor Gowron's grandiosity was cover for his deep insecurities. Gowron felt threatened by those he believed would usurp his power, even if they had no intention of taking it, like the cloned Kahless the Unforgettable (Kevin Conway) or General Martok (J.G. Hertzler). When Martok rose to prominence leading the Klingon Empire's warriors in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion War, Gowron believed that Martok was stealing his glory. But Gowron's paranoia and need for adulation ultimately led to his demise.

Chancellor Gowron's Appearances
"Reunion"	TNG season 4, episode 7
"Redemption"	TNG season 4, episode 26
"Redemption II"	TNG season 5, episode 1
"Rightful Heir"	TNG season 6, episode 23
"The House of Quark"	DS9 season 3, episode x
"The Way of the Warrior"	DS9 season 4, episode 1
"Broken Link"	DS9 season 4, episode 26
"Apocalypse Rising"	DS9 season 5, episode 1
"By Inferno's Light"	DS9 season 5, episode 15
"When It Rains..."	DS9 season 7, episode 21
"Tacking Into the Wind"	DS9 season 7, episode 22

Chancellor Gowron may be the character most associated with the title of Klingon High Chancellor among fans, since we saw Gowron's eight years of rule from the start in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4 to an untimely (but deserved) end in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7. Gowron exemplified how difficult the alliance between the Klingon Empire and the Federation could be, because Gowron's goals sometimes aligned with the Federation's, but Gowron could also be an obstructive antagonist when Star Trek stories called for it.

 

2Chancellor Worf (Michael Dorn)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2375)

Lt. Commander Worf became Chancellor when he slayed Gowron in personal combat in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 22, "Tacking Into the Wind". Chancellor Gowron interfered with General Martok's strategies during the Dominion War, implementing plans that created unwinnable circumstances. ​​​​​​​Gowron believed he was in line with Klingon ideals, and spoke of songs being sung of these great, impossible battles, but Worf saw that Gowron was out of touch with the reality of war and should be deposed.

In Star Trek: Picard season 3, "Slayer of Gowron" is among the many titles Worf uses to introduce himself.

Worf encouraged General Martok to challenge Gowron, but Martok refused. Martok's allegiance was to the Empire before anything else, and Martok believed he would invite shame by challenging Chancellor Gowron during wartime, even if Martok believed Gowron was wrong. Instead, Worf took matters into his own hands, and immediately abdicated his new title to General Martok.

1Chancellor Martok (J.G. Hertzler)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2375 onward)

Chancellor Martok didn't believe himself worthy of accepting the role, which is only part of what made Martok the ideal High Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Martok started from humble beginnings, growing up in the Ketha Lowlands, and strove to become an officer. While Martok's dreams were stymied by Kor (John Colicos), Martok nonetheless proved himself to be an excellent strategist, and rose through the ranks to become a General. Because of his military position, Martok was one of the DS9 characters replaced by a Changeling in the early stages of the Dominion War.

Throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, General Martok demonstrated true honor through his respect for others, no matter their reputation, which made him an excellent leader. In the Dominion prison, Martok respected Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) as a much-needed healer, because doctors make it possible for warriors to continue fighting. Martok accepted Worf as a brother, despite the discommendation that Worf received. When assigned to the most downtrodden of Klingon Birds-of-Prey, Martok battled his own internal demons, eventually inspiring a disheartened crew, and bringing honor to the name IKS Rotarran.

Chancellor Martok's success could not have happened without the High Chancellors that came before him.

Martok's success as Chancellor carried over into newer Star Trek shows, too. Star Trek: Lower Decks featured Martok as a guide to the Klingon-themed tabletop roleplaying game Bat'leths and BiHnuchs. Star Trek: Prodigy references Chancellor Martok as commissioning a study on Tribbles, further reinforcing Martok's respect for scientists and others who are not warriors. But Chancellor Martok's success could not have happened without the High Chancellors that came before him in Star Trek, who paved the way for the alliance between the Klingon Empire and the Federation.