Rune Haako

Rune Haako was a male Neimoidian and the Settlement Officer of the Trade Federation, as well as a lieutenant to Viceroy Nute Gunray in the years leading up to and through the end of the Clone Wars. He replaced Hath Monchar as Gunray's second-in-command not long after the Eriadu Trade Summit, and disapproved of his superior's fraternization with the clandestine Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Around this time, Gunray and Haako had to deal with the desertion of Monchar, who, it was believed, would leak Federation secrets. Upon Haako's recommendation, Gunray hired the bounty hunter Mahwi Lihnn to hunt down and kill Monchar. Eventually, both Monchar and Lihnn were killed by one of Sidious's agents, Darth Maul. In 32 BBY, Haako served as advisor to Gunray when the Viceroy brought about the Blockade of Naboo—the Trade Federation's way of protesting the Galactic Senate's new taxation of trade routes. Tensions escalated when the Galactic Republic dispatched two Jedi Knights to negotiate with the Federation, which ultimately brought about the Invasion of Naboo.

Naboo's monarch, Queen Amidala, and the Jedi in turn, were able to break the Federation's occupation, and as a result both Gunray and Haako were arrested. The pair evaded any significant punishment due to the Federation's still-considerable influence, and were able to return to their offices within the Federation. Ultimately, the Federation joined Count Dooku's separatist movement, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which aimed to break away from the Galactic Republic altogether. Haako continued to serve as Gunray's lieutenant, and the Viceroy became a key figure on the Confederacy's Separatist Council. Ten years after the failed Naboo blockade, in 22 BBY, Haako and Gunray were present on Geonosis when now-Senator Amidala, along with two Jedi Knights, were arrested by Confederate agents and sentenced to death. In turn, the Confederacy's actions provoked an invasion of the planet by the Galactic Republic, sparking the beginning of the Clone Wars. Over the next three years, Haako and Gunray continued to serve the Confederacy, as they were shipped from system to system in order to evade the clutches of the Galactic Republic. They were kept under the protection of one of Dooku's generals, Grievous, and by 19 BBY, the Council sought refuge on the planet Mustafar. As the Clone Wars drew to a close, Haako, Gunray, and the other Separatist leaders were summarily assassinated by another agent of Sidious's, Darth Vader.