Nute Gunray

Nute Gunray's birthplace was Neimoidia, where, like all Neimoidians, he spent his early years in a communal hive until reaching the age of seven. At that point, he and the other larvae were intentionally subjected to competition for limited food resources, a system designed to eliminate the weak while rewarding acquisitiveness through hoarding beyond one's needs. Gunray proved to be among the most successful in this environment. In 33 BBY, when Darth Sidious revealed himself to Gunray, he attributed Gunray's insatiable desires and ambition to the conditions of his early life.

Gunray started his career with the Trade Federation as a junior trade officer, but quickly recognized an opportunity for advancement. The Federation was evaluating the Pulsar Supertanker corporation for potential expulsion, and the decision hinged on Gunray's testimony. Gunray argued in favor of expulsion, citing "malicious disregard of profit" and "charitable donations lacking discernible reward." Pulsar's expulsion led to its CEO losing their position in the Trade Federation Directorate, creating a vacancy that Gunray swiftly filled.

By 44 BBY, Gunray was serving as the Trade Federation's senator in the Galactic Senate. He urged the Senate to intervene when the Stark Commercial Combine began attacking Federation transports carrying valuable bacta. Gunray requested permission for the Federation to expand its Droid Army, while secretly coordinating with Senator Ranulph Tarkin to orchestrate a more decisive end to the Combine. Under pressure, Gunray revealed to Tarkin the name of the planet where a conference between Iaco Stark and Republic representatives was scheduled.

Gunray became a part of the negotiating team on Troiken, however, Stark, aware of Tarkin's plan to attack his forces, sabotaged the senator's fleet. During aggressive negotiations on Troiken, Gunray ordered his battle droid bodyguards to open fire without specifying the target. Jedi Master Tyvokka was shot down by Gunray's droids, but the cowardly Neimoidian demanded that the surviving Jedi help him reach his ship.

Unfortunately for Nute, his transport was destroyed, forcing him to join the Jedi as they fought Stark's forces in the Stark Hyperspace War. Eventually, Nute Gunray was escorted back to Coruscant in the company of Senator Finis Valorum before Stark's defeat. Despite this encounter, Gunray later denied ever witnessing Jedi in action.

Due to his questionable role in the conflict, Nute Gunray was appointed Viceroy of the Trade Federation, but he remained constrained by the Trade Federation Directorate. This caused him great frustration, as he believed the Directorate would never accept a Neimoidian Viceroy. During this period, Gunray engaged in several shady activities, including secret meetings in the Claus Building and the Follin Restaurant in the Crimson Corridor, diverting funds to Malastare representatives Pax Teem and Aks Moe, and conducting secret negotiations with Damask Holdings.

Between 39 and 36 BBY, Nute Gunray dispatched a portion of the Trade Federation Droid Army to colonize Alaris Prime, a rediscovered moon within the Kashyyyk system. The Senate had granted the Wookiees from Kashyyyk, who had discovered the moon, the rights to colonize it. The Trade Federation sought control of the moon due to its abundant resources and its potential as a trade hub for planets like Kashyyyk, Bimmisaari, and Kessel.

When the Wookiees settled on Alaris Prime, they found one of the Trade Federation's power cores heavily damaged after being attacked by gundarks, a predatory species. The Wookiees Chewbacca and Shoran destroyed the power core and moved on, but Gunray noticed the loss and sent a B1-Series battle droid, OOL-2, to investigate. OOL-2 mistakenly reported to Nute Gunray that Gundarks had destroyed the power core, leading the Viceroy to order the extermination of the gundarks and the sale of their pelts to their Trandoshan ally Pekt. The droid army attacked the gundark nest, encountering Chewbacca and a group of Wookiee bowcaster troopers, who were also prepared to kill the gundarks. The battle droids attacked the Wookiees but were all destroyed, starting a war for control of Alaris Prime that resulted in the destruction of all Trade Federation bases and their ultimate expulsion from the moon in the Battle for Alaris Prime.

In 33 BBY, Gunray received an anonymous gift: a red-spotted pylat bird. Although he was wary of the gift's origin, the pylot was a symbol of power and wealth in Neimoidian society, and the red-spotted bird was a particularly rare specimen. It soon became a prominent feature in Gunray's office, and Gunray enjoyed the envy of his colleagues.

Shortly thereafter, Gunray received an unexpected holo-call on his secure line from a mysterious cloaked figure. Outraged by the intrusion, Gunray attempted to trace the call until the figure calmly identified himself as the sender of the pylat, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious. Skeptical but curious, Gunray stated that he would not participate in covert schemes, but Sidious offered to elevate his position in the Trade Federation, both flattering and blackmailing the Viceroy with knowledge of his childhood and his meetings across Coruscant. Sidious even accused Gunray of being involved in the death of the anti-Trade Federation Senator Vidar Kim, whose death had actually been orchestrated by Sidious so that his public identity of Palpatine could become Naboo's senator.

Intimidated, Gunray demanded to know Sidious's intentions. Sidious reiterated his offer of a partnership, offering to demonstrate his power by choking the pylat over the call. Horrified, Gunray reluctantly agreed to cooperate with Sidious, who informed him that Naboo and the Republic were planning to betray the Trade Federation: Sidious's public identity of Palpatine was advocating for renewed taxation of the Free Trade Zones that had enriched the Federation, while King Ars Veruna of Naboo was planning to end the planet's export agreement with the Trade Federation. Sidious flattered Gunray by saying that only he could provide the leadership the Federation needed. Promising Gunray a "surprise promotion," Sidious sent his apprentice Darth Maul to the mining world of Dorvalla, where Maul turned the rival companies Lommite Limited and InterGalactic Ore against each other. The Trade Federation had long sought to control the planet's lommite trade, and Maul's actions led to the merger of the two companies to form Dorvalla Mining, which soon agreed to allow the Trade Federation to export lommite ore and to accept Trade Federation representation in the Senate. As a result, Gunray's power was solidified, and so was the hold Sidious had over the Viceroy.

Shortly afterward, Gunray was contacted again by Sidious, who promised to make him the sole leader of the Federation and to grant his forces a much larger and improved battle droid army. These new battle droids were part of Sidious's plan to rid Gunray of the Directorate: during a summit on Eriadu, the droids unexpectedly opened fire on the Directorate, killing all but the absent Nute and the new Federation senator, Lott Dod. Under Sidious's guidance, Gunray filled the remaining positions with his associates, Daultay Dofine, Rune Haako, and Hath Monchar, turning the Trade Federation into a Neimoidian monopoly.

During the final stages of planning the blockade of Naboo, Hath Monchar—deeply involved in Gunray and Sidious's plot—disappeared. Gunray correctly concluded that Monchar was acting on his own, planning to sell information about the upcoming blockade to the highest bidder. Fearing the repercussions if Darth Sidious discovered Monchar's treachery, Gunray told Sidious that Monchar had simply fallen ill from eating too much rich food. Believing that Sidious would see through the lie, he was surprised when the Sith Lord seemed to accept his excuse and began to plan how to locate Monchar before the situation escalated further.

On Rune Haako's suggestion, Gunray hired a bounty hunter named Mahwi Lihnn to track Monchar down and bring him back before the next meeting with Sidious. Although Lihnn managed to find the errant deputy Viceroy, Gunray soon received word that both she and Monchar had been killed in an altercation. While Gunray was consumed with dread over having to report the incident to Sidious, the Sith Lord had in fact dealt with the situation himself by dispatching his apprentice, Darth Maul, to kill Monchar and anyone he had spoken with, neutralizing the threat.

Under Sidious's command, Gunray blockaded Naboo from trade routes, officially citing discontent over Outer Rim trade route taxation. Chancellor Valorum sent two ambassadors to negotiate with Gunray aboard the Saak'ak, and he was shocked to learn that the ambassadors were Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He quickly contacted Sidious, at which point Daultay Dofine voiced his concerns about the plan. Sidious angrily ordered that Dofine be kept out of his sight. Dofine hurried away, frightened by the Sith Lord.

After Sidious ordered Gunray to begin the invasion of Naboo, Gunray was skeptical, concerned about the legality of invading Naboo. Sidious assured the Viceroy he would "make it legal." Sidious then told Gunray, when asked what to do with the Jedi, to kill them. Gunray destroyed their ship and released toxic gas into the conference chamber. However, the two Jedi managed to escape, but Gunray decided to keep this secret from Sidious for the time being. Gunray was smug when talking with Queen Amidala, telling her he knew nothing of any ambassadors. Amidala told Gunray he had gone too far before ending the transmission. Gunray secretly knew she was right, but insisted it was too late to back out, and then promptly ordered that they immediately black out all communication arrays on the planet.

The Neimoidians searched the Saak'ak and realized that they could not find the Jedi, concluding that they had snuck aboard Trade Federation landing craft. They transmitted to Gunray's most trusted droid, the B1-series battle droid OOM-9, and ordered him to find them. OOM-9 had landed on the planet first with a small invasion force under orders from Gunray and Sidious to disrupt Naboo's communications with Coruscant. OOM-9 targeted transmitters at the cities of New Centrif, Vis, and Parrlay, destroying the cities with help from reinforcements from the B1 battle droid EEK-176. Gunray personally ordered OOM-9 to destroy Parrlay once his forces reached the city, and transmitted the success of the operation to Sidious. Gunray then directed OOM-9 to the city Harte Secur, as one of the five droid control programs had been stolen by the Naboo there. The theft had deactivated a portion of the Droid Army under OOM-14, and Gunray feared that the Naboo could hack the program and turn the Droid Army against him. The Neimoidian sent OOM-9 to OOM-14's Deactivated Camp, where a division of forty-eight battle droids stood motionless, and provided him with a Neimoidan technician, five heavy droidekas, and a bio cannon.

The group assaulted a stronghold south of Harte Secur where the droid control program was kept, and the technician used it to reactivate OOM-14's droids. Gunray then ordered OOM-9 to destroy Harte Secur, a task the droid completed. Gunray was impressed with OOM-9's performance and reassigned him to oversee the invasion of Spinnaker, Naboo's major supply center. Gunray had lost confidence in the profitability of the invasion and was eager to see proof of Naboo's wealth, which he anticipated in the form of 10,000 nova crystals, a naturally occurring resource also used as currency. The resource stockpiles in Spinnaker were overflowing as they could not be transported offworld because of the Trade Federation's blockade, which Gunray reported to Sidious. OOM-9 successfully conquered Spinnaker and acquired the nova crystals, for which Gunray congratulated him, also commenting that the full scale invasion was ready to begin. Spinnaker was a short distance from Theed, and Gunray made a transmission to Sidious to inform him of their imminent victory.

Overnight, the Trade Federation Droid Army had taken up strategic positions across Naboo, and they were ready to capture Theed, Naboo's Human capital, on the morning after they landed. OOM-9 and a portion of the Droid Army approached Theed first and were tasked by Gunray to destroy a signal jammer that prevented hostile starships from landing in the city. Once the droids breached the city and destroyed the jammer, Gunray deployed reinforcements into the city, which included OX9 labor droids, and ordered them to capture Theed Royal Palace by getting at least five battle droids into the palace's limits. After achieving that goal, Gunray ordered the OX9s to build a Neimoidian Throne in front of the palace to prove the Trade Federation's supremacy and demoralize the Naboo. Once it was constructed, Gunray congratulated OOM-9 and entered the city along with Rune Haako. In Theed, Gunray received word from OOM-9 that they had captured Queen Amidala. Gunray proudly proclaimed victory and marched into the palace.

The incensed Governor Sio Bibble questioned Gunray about how he intended to justify the invasion to the Galactic Senate. Gunray responded that he and the Queen would sign a treaty to make the occupation legitimate. The Queen immediately refused to cooperate with the Viceroy, but Gunray was unmoved, stating that the suffering of her people would change her mind. The Queen was taken to a detention camp, but Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon rescued her en route, successfully taking her off the planet and past the blockade. This forced Gunray to inform Sidious, who was displeased by this development. Sidious then introduced his apprentice to the shocked Gunray and Haako, and instructed Darth Maul to find the Queen.

Gunray swiftly took control of the planet, establishing himself in the Queen's palace located in Theed. One evening, he mocked Governor Bibble from his mechno-chair. Growing weary of the Governor's objections, he told him he would die before his people. OOM-9 then approached Gunray, reporting that the Droid Army was prepared to search the swamps for the Gungans, native inhabitants of Naboo. Since landing on Naboo, the Trade Federation had heard rumors about the Gungans and feared they posed a threat to their invasion gains.

After unsuccessfully begging the Old Republic Senate for help, Amidala moved for a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum, who was unable to win an argument against Senator Lott Dod. A new election for Chancellor was called, ultimately resulting in Naboo's own Senator Palpatine being elected as the new Chancellor. Despite Valorum's removal, the Galactic Senate still refused to act, leading Amidala to return home, determined to liberate her planet or die trying. Gunray informed Sidious of his success, who was pleased and told the Viceroy that his apprentice, Darth Maul, was on his way to join him. Upon Maul's arrival, Gunray detected the Queen's ship and tracked it to the swamps of Naboo. He reported this to Sidious, who was cautious of the Queen's increasingly aggressive intentions. Gunray then detected the assembled Gungan army in the swamps and dispatched OOM-9 and a large part of his army to crush them, dismissing them as primitive.

Gunray, along with Rune Haako and Darth Maul, remained in the throne room. Maul departed to confront Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn as Gunray grew worried that the battle was happening too close to his location. The Queen managed to infiltrate the palace, only to be captured and brought before the Viceroy. Gunray demanded she sign the treaty, but the Queen's disguised handmaiden appeared, confusing him. He ordered his droids to pursue Sabé, the Queen's decoy, believing her to be the real Queen. This proved to be Gunray's fatal error. Using the distraction, the real Queen eliminated Gunray's guards and held him and Haako at gunpoint. Initially, Gunray was unconcerned, confident that his droids would break through to rescue him. However, his hopes were dashed when a young boy named Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship, deactivating his entire army. With his forces defeated and Darth Maul presumed dead at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gunray and Haako were captured and sent back to Coruscant to face trial for their crimes.

Despite facing four trials in the Republic Supreme Court, Gunray retained control of the Trade Federation, although several of his associates perished during the Battle of Naboo. Gunray never publicly revealed Darth Sidious's involvement in the Naboo blockade, partly out of fear, but also because he believed Sidious had not completely abandoned him and was working to ensure the trials against him and his officers amounted to nothing.

During this period, Gunray was rumored to be having an affair with Lora Besh, who, in 22 BBY, shortly before the Clone Wars, released an unauthorized biography of Gunray titled Gunray On Top. It remained a bestseller for several months, with sales potentially boosted by its subject's involvement in the war.

During his final Republic trial, Viceroy Gunray was approached by Count Dooku. In a moment of weakness, he revealed Sidious's existence to the former Jedi, who promised to bring the matter before the Jedi Council. Gunray then decided to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which sought to secede from the Galactic Republic, but he had one condition: the assassination of Senator Amidala as revenge for his capture a decade earlier. The Confederacy's leader, Count Dooku, agreed to this and hired the bounty hunter Jango Fett to kill the senator, along with his associate Zam Wesell. Much to Gunray's disappointment, both failed, and Jango silenced Zam's attempt to reveal her client by killing her with a saberdart.

Obi-Wan Kenobi tracked Jango via the saberdart to the droid factory on Geonosis, where he overheard Gunray's negotiations with Dooku. Although captured by the Geonosians, Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker attempted to rescue him, resulting in their own capture. Gunray saw this as an opportunity for revenge and was delighted when the former Queen was sentenced to death, planning to witness her execution. However, to his dismay, she survived the nexu unleashed upon her and escaped the planet with the help of over 200 Jedi and the Republic's new clone army. Gunray barely managed to escape with his life amidst the chaos involving battle droids, Geonosians, 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 military leader, but he couldn't sever his ties with the CIS without risking his life. He soon became the primary source of funding for the CIS.

Gunray quickly found himself at odds with the Confederacy's new Supreme Commander, General Grievous. Upon their initial meeting on Geonosis, he dismissed the cyborg General as merely a droid, greatly angering Grievous, who might have killed Gunray if Count Dooku hadn't intervened. Gunray's opinion changed after witnessing the General's abilities, and Grievous's actions in the Geonosian catacombs helped Gunray and the other Separatist leaders escape the planet alive. Nevertheless, the two maintained a mutual animosity throughout the war.

The stress of the war caused the wrinkles on Gunray's face to become more pronounced than those of most Neimoidians.

Shortly after the Battle of Geonosis, pirates attacked the swamp planet of Rodia. In desperation, Rodia's senator, Onaconda Farr, turned to Nute Gunray for assistance. Gunray agreed to provide Rodia's citizens with essential supplies in exchange for a small favor: the kidnapping of Senator Padmé Amidala, against whom the Viceroy still held a grudge. Farr, a close friend of Naboo's former Queen, invited her to Rodia under the guise of helping the Rodian people.

Amidala arrived with her personal protocol droid, C-3PO, and Naboo's current Gungan representative, Jar Jar Binks. Eventually, she and C-3PO were captured and imprisoned by Gunray and his battle droids, but Jar Jar disrupted his plans by disguising himself in Anakin Skywalker's Jedi cloak and joining the battle, aided by a Kwazel Maw he had nicknamed "Bogey." Gunray attempted to flee the ensuing chaos, but found his battle droids being destroyed one by one. Ultimately, Farr turned against the Viceroy, and Gunray found himself held at gunpoint by both Amidala and Farr. Soon, clone troopers arrived on Rodia and arrested the Viceroy.

Gunray was taken aboard the Tranquility, a Jedi Cruiser commanded by Luminara Unduli, Ahsoka Tano, Commander Gree, Captain Faro Argyus, and Argyus's squadron of Senate Commandos. He was to be transported to Coruscant for his fifth trial. Gunray initially resisted Jedi interrogation, but after being threatened by Tano, he offered to negotiate a deal. He retracted the offer when Separatist droids boarded the ship, and Asajj Ventress arrived in the detention area and freed him. Once free, Gunray locked Tano in her cell and gloated over her predicament. However, his triumph was short-lived as Ventress was forced to flee after reinforcements arrived led by Unduli, and Gunray found himself back in his cell.

After distracting Tano and ensuring she joined Unduli in battling Ventress, Captain Argyus revealed to Gree that he was a Separatist and killed the commandos, freeing Gunray once more. As Argyus fought Gree, Nute saw that Gree had the advantage, snuck up behind the clone, and knocked him unconscious with a blaster rifle. Gunray, Argyus, and Ventress managed to escape the crippled vessel, but when Argyus boasted about his role in saving Gunray, intending to take credit with Count Dooku, Ventress promptly killed him for the insult. Gunray then told Ventress he had always had a 'good feeling' about her. Gunray later assisted Count Dooku in a plot to lure Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his former Padawan, Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb, to the droid leader General Grievous's castle on the moon of Vassek, under the pretense that Gunray was there, but instead they engaged the cyborg general himself.

Darth Sidious later instructed Gunray to send reinforcements to assist the bounty hunter Cad Bane on Devaron. Bane had stolen a Jedi Holocron containing vital information that Sidious desired. Gunray dispatched a Trade Federation escort of Munificent-class frigates to protect Bane's escape from Devaron, but was furious to learn that Bane had lost four ships in battle with the Republic. Although Bane assured Gunray that Sidious would compensate him for the loss of his fleet, Gunray demanded that Bane transmit the data from the Holocron, which Bane had been unable to open.

To Gunray's surprise, Bane allowed Jedi to board his ship and then successfully forced Jedi Anakin Skywalker to open the Holocron in exchange for his Padawan's life. Bane reported his success to Gunray, and the Viceroy offered to send him a rescue ship in exchange for the data from the Holocron, but Bane was too cautious to accept and made his own escape as the last ship in Gunray's borrowed fleet was destroyed.

In 19 BBY, near the end of the Clone Wars, Gunray tried to persuade the Wookiee royal families of Kashyyyk to join the Confederacy. The royal families, through a council led by King Grakchawwaa, were close to agreeing out of self-preservation, but General Grievous, impatient, ordered Gunray to deploy droids to "persuade" the Wookiees. Gunray disagreed but deployed the droids anyway, resulting in the death of Grakchawwaa's son, Prince Rikummee. Enraged, Grakchawwaa allied himself with the Republic, forcing the Separatists to launch a major invasion of Kashyyyk in the war's final days.

As the Republic launched an offensive to retake the Core Worlds from Separatist control, General Grievous ordered the Separatist Council members to meet him in the Outer Rim Territories. However, Gunray was determined to return to his private citadel on Cato Neimoidia and evacuate his treasures before the Republic seized them. After being pursued by Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gunray narrowly escaped the planet, but didn't have time to load all of his belongings onto his shuttle.

After escaping, Gunray realized his Mechno-Chair was missing. The chair contained a hyperwave transceiver given to him fourteen years earlier by Darth Sidious, and Gunray feared the Republic might tamper with it. Unable to self-destruct it, he and Rune Haako hastily sent a signal for the chair to arm itself, hoping it would force Republic forces to destroy it before they could extract any information. Gunray reflected on the loss of Cato Neimoidia, fearing it was a tragedy not just for the Trade Federation, but for the entire Neimoidian species. By this point, Gunray was growing weary of the war and privately feared that all was lost as he and his allies were driven from the Core.

To give General Grievous the impression that he had been chased from the core, Gunray chose to use standard Hyperspace lanes instead of the secret Trade Federation hyperlanes. Grievous saw through the deception and reprimanded the Viceroy by deliberately firing upon his Droid escort. Gunray knew the General had seen through his ruse but chose not to discuss it with Count Dooku, fearing he would side with Grievous.

After meeting with Grievous and the rest of the council, Gunray learned that Grievous planned to keep the council together indefinitely and find them a new safe haven in the Outer Rim. Grievous informed the Council that he would contact them in the usual manner, which, for Gunray, meant via his Mechno-Chair. Fearing the consequences if he told Grievous he had lost the chair to the Republic, Gunray remained silent.

Some time later, Gunray was contacted by Shu Mai, who asked if he wished to join her in a convoy to Belderone, the safe haven Grievous had promised the Council. Gunray declined but pretended he had already been informed and was on his way to Belderone. To cover his tracks, Gunray contacted Grievous and angrily demanded to know why he hadn't been informed personally, though Grievous claimed he had tried contacting the Viceroy several times.

In reality, Republic forces had used Gunray's captured Mechno-Chair to intercept Grievous's transmission, alerting them to the General's plan to attack Belderone and allowing them to stage a surprise attack. Gunray was soon confronted by Grievous, who stormed into his private chambers. The Viceroy stood his ground, but the General seized him by the throat and quickly learned the truth from the terrified Gunray. Ultimately, Dooku and Darth Sidious used Gunray's blunder to accelerate the final stages of the Grand Plan, and Gunray was spared the wrath of Grievous and his Sith masters.

Gunray and the Separatist Council were later relocated to the outer rim world of Utapau, where they watched Grievous's attack on Coruscant via the HoloNet. For the first time, Gunray began to believe he had underestimated the Cyborg General and joined the rest of the council in celebration.

Gunray's celebration was short-lived as news arrived that Count Dooku had been killed and the Separatist forces defeated. The Council lamented their situation, many believing the war was lost. Gunray told his fellow Council members that, as the leadership council, they should be giving the orders, not Grievous.

When the General arrived to meet them, Gunray openly challenged Grievous before the council, pointing out the General's failure at Coruscant, the escape of Chancellor Palpatine, and the death of Count Dooku, but he was dismissed by the General.

Shortly after, he and the rest of the Separatist Council were moved to Mustafar by General Grievous at Darth Sidious's command, and Grievous himself was killed soon after. As the head of the Council, Nute Gunray now found himself the leader of the remaining Confederate forces. He and the Council were contacted again by Darth Sidious, who told the Viceroy he had done well and promised that his new apprentice, Darth Vader, would arrive on Mustafar to "take care" of him. However, Gunray and the other Separatists were unaware that Sidious had betrayed them and sent Vader to kill them.

When Vader arrived, Gunray welcomed him, but Vader mercilessly cut down all of the council members, saving Gunray for last. Nute Gunray begged Vader, pleading desperately and trying to say that all the Confederacy wanted was peace, but he was killed by the Dark Lord. Afterward, the Confederacy's droid armies were deactivated, and the Clone Wars officially ended. His body was later found by salvage crews who investigated the mining facility after its destruction.

He was briefly succeeded as Viceroy of the Trade Federation by fellow Neimoidian Sentepeth Findos, the final holder of the position, who reluctantly surrendered the Federation's assets to the new Galactic Empire.

As Viceroy of the Trade Federation, Nute Gunray was known to be cunning, deceitful, greedy, and prepared to commit murder for monetary gain. He was a greedy and calculating business leader primarily focused on maximizing profits and personal well-being. He had no reservations about exploiting innocent individuals for financial benefit; in fact, he promoted it. Gunray possessed skill in the political arena, frequently deterring opponents with a string of groundless, condescending assurances. These abilities translated to his role as Federation Viceroy, where he constantly had to appease employees, clients, or adversaries. Gunray was also a highly successful businessman, his talents attracting the attention of Darth Sidious.

Gunray openly feared Darth Sidious but was often forced to entrust his fate to the Sith. Initially, working with Sidious brought great rewards, but by the end of the Clone Wars, he regretted allying with the Sith and placing himself under their control. His personality clashed with General Grievous, who, unlike Gunray, was a fierce, strategically-minded military commander with a strong sense of authority. Gunray, in turn, despised Grievous, viewing him as unstable and arrogant.

Despite being often seen as a coward, Gunray was willing to take matters into his own hands if threatened and enjoyed seeking revenge on those he felt had wronged him, particularly in his obsession with killing Padmé Amidala. While often portrayed as villainous, Gunray was no different from his Neimoidian peers, whose culture lacked the concept of morality found in other species. However, he was pragmatic enough to realize that breaking the law would have consequences, as shown by his skepticism towards Darth Sidious's order to invade Naboo due to its likely illegality.

Gunray wore a large headdress as a symbol of his authority and forbade his colleagues from wearing taller ones, even holding regular measuring contests to enforce his ego. Gunray was highly acquisitive and kept a vast collection of treasures and keepsakes in the vaults of his private redoubt on Cato Neimoidia. His collection included robes, miters, opulent jewelry, and priceless works of art. Gunray particularly admired Hutt artwork, admiring the species for their power and success. He also purchased his personal mecho-chair to emulate their repulsor-thrones.

Nute Gunray's portrayal was executed by Silas Carson, who also took on the roles of Ki-Adi-Mundi, Neimoidian Senator Lott Dod, and Republic Lieutenant Williams throughout all three installments of the prequel trilogy. When Carson embodied the character, he provided the voice with a Thai accent, which he developed by mimicking a native Thai speaker reciting the lines. In the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, voice acting was provided by Phil Proctor, while Tom Kenny voiced him in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series. David W. Collins was the voice actor in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game, and Scott Cleverdon in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace video game. Aside from Palpatine, he stands as the sole antagonist featured in each of the prequel trilogy's films.

A deleted scene from Attack of the Clones depicts Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala undergoing a trial by the Geonosians. Nute Gunray observes from the sidelines and, as the trial extends beyond his patience, he exclaims to Poggle the Lesser: "Get on with it, carry out the sentence. I want to see her suffer!". Consequently, Poggle the Lesser swiftly concludes the trial and instructs his guards to escort Anakin and Padmé to the execution arena.

Within the script for Revenge of the Sith, a scene was present (though ultimately omitted from the final cut, it was probably filmed) where Nute Gunray and Rune Haako sought refuge beneath a table amidst Darth Vader's slaughter of the Separatist Council. Rune Haako, seized by panic, attempted to flee but was promptly dispatched by Vader (as depicted in the film). However, Nute remained concealed. As Vader eliminated the other members, Nute swiftly emerged from beneath the table and activated the control panel to open the doors. As the other council members were all killed, droidekas entered and opened fire on Vader. Gunray watched as the smoke cleared and found Vader gone. Vader then drops down from the roof and destroys the droids, after which he jumps over to Gunray and cuts off his head. This clarifies Nute's astonishment when Vader lunges at him—he had presumed Vader had been killed by the droids.

Varied adaptations of The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith exhibited subtle discrepancies. Within The Phantom Menace video game, players controlling Queen Amidala possess the ability to eliminate Gunray during her concluding level (progressing to the subsequent stage irrespective of whether the last droids he summons are defeated, and this does not alter the game's ultimate conclusion). Conversely, in Revenge of the Sith video game, Gunray evades Vader within the Separatist control center situated on Mustafar, attempting to escape aboard his ship, only to have it destroyed by the vengeful former Jedi, resulting in its plunge into the lava river below. Within the Revenge of the Sith novelization, Vader retorted to Gunray's pronouncement regarding the promise of peace by asserting that Sidious's transmission had been distorted, and that the Sith had actually said they would be "left in pieces" (though Gunray's body was relatively intact when compared to most of the other Separatist leaders). In the Revenge of the Sith comic adaptation, Gunray is depicted in his Attack of the Clones attire on Utapau, diverging from his appearance in the film.

Gunray's headpiece in Revenge of the Sith stands alone as the only one lacking three points.

The nomenclature of Nute Gunray drew inspiration from two real-world figures: Firstly, Republican congressman Newt Gingrich, and secondly, former president Ronald Reagan. The former influence stemmed from Lucas's primary shaping of the Trade Federation members' motives and characterizations in response to the 1994 Republican Revolution (which occurred eight days into Lucas's draft-writing the film), notably then-Speaker of the House Gingrich's Contract with America, while the latter arose as a reaction to Reagan's SDI program being branded as "Star Wars" without Lucas's consent.