Who was the leader of the Trade Federation in The Phantom Menace?

Nute Gunray was the leader of the Trade Federation in The Phantom Menace. He is the Neimoidian Viceroy who commands the Federation’s blockade and invasion of Naboo, setting the film’s political crisis in motion.

Gunray works closely with the mysterious Darth Sidious, who manipulates the Trade Federation into occupying Naboo. Although Gunray appears to be a powerful official, he is largely a frightened and self-interested administrator acting under Sith pressure. His forces blockade the planet, occupy its capital, and capture Queen Padmé Amidala before she escapes.

The character is often confused with the Sith figures involved in the plot. Sidious is the hidden mastermind, while Darth Maul is the Sith apprentice dispatched to hunt the Jedi. Count Dooku does not become a major figure until Attack of the Clones. Gunray returns in the later prequel films as part of the Separatist leadership, but he remains a political subordinate rather than a Sith Lord.