Assassination is the act of murdering an important individual or individuals - such as political figures. In many cases ideological or politics provides the primary motivation for assassination. Other motivations include financial gain, revenge, or for military reasons. Assassination has played a major role in many different cultures throughout galactic history.
On Earth, assassination has played a major role in human history. The early Roman leader Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE, and this act was later the subject of a play by William Shakespeare. Later, several Presidents of the United States of America were assassinated while in office. The most notable of these were Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. (TOS episodes: "The Cage", "The Savage Curtain")
In the mirror universe, assassination was a common method of advancement in the Imperial Starfleet. Captain Christopher Pike assassinated Karl Franz to become the commanding officer of the ISS Enterprise, and was in turn later assassinated himself by James T. Kirk. When James T. Kirk visited the mirror universe in 2267, he was very nearly assassinated by Pavel Chekov. (TOS episode: "Mirror, Mirror")
In the Star Trek: Mirror Universe continuity, the mirror Kirk was in turn assassinated by the mirror Spock shortly after his return from the primary universe. (TOS novel: The Sorrows of Empire) However, in the Shatnerverse continuity Spock, aware that assassinating Kirk would lead to his own death a short time later, did not kill the mirror Kirk. (ST novel: Spectre)
Only one Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance was assassinated while in office, that being Smeet the Oblivious. (DS9 episode: "Ferengi Love Songs")
In 2293, Chancellor Gorkon was assassinated by a conspiracy led by the Klingon General Chang, the Romulan Nanclus, and Federation officials Admiral Lance Cartwright and Colonel Patrick West. Captain James T. Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy were initially accused of and found guilty of this assassination before the true assassins were exposed. The crew of the USS Enterprise-A played a key role in exposing this conspiracy, and preventing the assassination of the Federation President Ra-ghoratreii. (TOS movie: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
During the Occupation of Bajor, the Bajoran Resistance targeted high ranking Cardassians for assassination. Gul Skrain Dukat was a particularly high priority target, being the subject of a number of assassination attempts during his time as Prefect. Following the ending of the Occupation of Bajor, some of the groups that fought the Cardassians continued to commit violent acts against the Cardassians, as well as against Bajorans who did not agree with their ideals. One of these groups was the Kohn-Ma, which in 2369 assassinated the First Minister of Bajor. (DS9 episodes: "Things Past", "Past Prologue")
While serving in the Vulcan Guard T'Andoria helped defend members of the Vulcan government from several Romulan assassination plots. (TNG video game: Away Team)
In 2374, Romulan Emperor Shiarkiek was assassinated by the Archpriest N'Gathan. He was avenged by Ruanek and Spock. (ST short story: "Blood Sacrifice")
The members of the Romulan Senate were assassinated by Senator Tal'Aura on the behalf of Shinzon of Remus in 2379. As a result, Shinzon briefly took over the Romulan government until he was killed in battle with the USS Enterprise-E. This assassination had profound consequences for the Romulan Star Empire. (TNG movie: Star Trek Nemesis)
2387 saw the assassination of Orion Syndicate leader Raimus on Farius Prime by the hand of Hassan the Undying, apparently on the orders of Melani D'ian. ({{web|ST|The Path to 2409)
External links
- Assassination article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Assassination article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.