- For other uses, see Nathan.
- See Samuels for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Nathan Samuels was a prominent 22nd century Human politician who served as Prime Minister of United Earth in 2155. (ENT episodes: "Demons", "Terra Prime", ENT novel: The Good That Men Do)
Biography[]
In his youth, Samuels was a member of Terra Prime, a xenophobic movement that sought to have all extraterrestrials expelled from Earth. As an adult, however, he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Coalition of Planets in late 2155, putting him in direct opposition to the terrorist organization, which attempted to destroy Starfleet Headquarters in order to prevent the treaty talks. (ENT episodes: "Demons", "Terra Prime")
Samuels was present at the signing of the Coalition Compact in March of 2155, and later, in 2161 was amongst the signatories of the Articles of the Federation which created the United Federation of Planets in 2161. (ENT novel: Last Full Measure)
Amongst Prime Minister Samuels' cabinet was United Earth Interior Minister Haroun al-Rashid, who later served as one of the first Federation presidents. (ENT novel: The Good That Men Do, ST novel: Articles of the Federation)
Early into the Coalition's history, Prime Minister Samuels became a major advocate for the entry of Alpha Centauri as a separate Coalition member. This position was resisted by the other Coalition members initially, who feared that it would grant Humans too much power over the Coalition. The Samuels government eventually got its goals when Draylax entered as well. (ENT novel: Kobayashi Maru)
Prime Minister Samuels was sympathetic to United Earth Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer's belief that the Romulan Star Empire constituted a grave and growing threat to the Coalition and its members. Nonetheless, the Samuels government remained unable to muster the political capital necessary to act on his suspicions until after the attack on the ECS Kobayashi Maru. (ENT novels: The Good That Men Do, Kobayashi Maru)
During the Earth-Romulan War, Prime Minister Samuels led United Earth in conjunction with the President of United Earth, Lydia Littlejohn. (SCE novel: The Future Begins)
Also during the war, Samuels used his executive authority to switch all starship production into making Daedalus-class starships. He also declared a fortress Earth policy in which Earth's defense would be Starfleet's primary concern. (ENT - The Romulan War novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing)
- Samuels was only referred to as "Minister" in "Demons" and "Terra Prime," but as Prime Minister in subsequent novels. Despite this position, he was specifically identified as not being in the United Earth Starfleet's chain of command.
Alternate timeline[]
In an alternate timeline in which John Frederick Paxton destroyed Starfleet Command and ended the talks for the Coalition of Planets in 2155, Samuels gave the goals of Terra Prime his support, though he continued to hope Earth would reach out again to the rest of the galaxy. He was forced from office when the Isolationist Party took control of the Parliament of United Earth in 2161. He died at some point before 2189.
His personal papers, released from the International Archives 75 years after his death, formed the basis of a biography by John Gill which was published by 2264. The biography revealed that he had been a member of Terra Prime for a brief period during his late teens before he realised how xenophobic the organisation was and that, later in life, he regretted capitulating to their demands following the attack on Starfleet Command. (TOS - Myriad Universes novel: A Less Perfect Union)
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Prime Ministers of United Earth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary universe |
Nathan Samuels | Alternate universes |
Carter Winston | 
|
| Known members and associates of Terra Prime | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Greaves • Josiah • Khouri • Masaro • Paxton • Samuels • Mercer | |
External links[]
- Nathan Samuels article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.