In the Dune series, what is the name of the Harkonnen baron?

In the *Dune* series, the Harkonnen baron is Vladimir Harkonnen.

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is the ruthless head of House Harkonnen and the principal antagonist of Frank Herbert’s original novel. He rules from Giedi Prime and is locked in a generations-long feud with House Atreides, led by Duke Leto Atreides.

His plan in *Dune* is to help engineer the destruction of House Atreides after Leto receives control of Arrakis. The Baron uses political manipulation, treachery, and agents such as the Mentat Piter De Vries to exploit weaknesses within the Atreides household. He later positions his nephew Feyd-Rautha as a possible successor.

Readers sometimes confuse Vladimir with his nephews Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha, or with Piter de Vries, his Mentat. Vladimir is also secretly Lady Jessica’s father in the original storyline, making him Paul Atreides’ maternal grandfather. In the 2021 and 2024 films, Stellan Skarsgård portrays him.