Kodos

Governor Kodos (or Kodos the Executioner) was the leader of the Federation colony on the planet Tarsus IV in the 2240s.

In 2246, Tarsus IV was used as a test site by the Symmetrists for the virogen plague. As a result a deadly famine struck the colony, and there was not enough food for the 8,000 colonists. Kodos ordered that 4,000 colonists be killed so that there would be enough food to last until Starfleet aid arrived. The order was carried out, just as a relief task force led by the USS Enterprise arrived.

Realising that his life was in danger, Kodos turned to the Symmetrists who provided him with the identity of Anton Karidian and got him off the planet. A body was later recovered, burnt beyond recognition, at Kodos' home, and it was believed that it was his body. Kodos lived as Anton Karidian until 2266, when he was exposed by Captain James T. Kirk, one of the few remaining survivors that could identify him. (TOS episode: "The Conscience of the King" and novel: Avenger).