Hiram Roth

Hiram Roth
President Roth in 2286.
Species:	Human
Gender:	male
Homeworld:	Daran V
Born:	2223
Died:	2288
Affiliation:	Federation, Diplomatic Corps
Career
Previous Assignment:	Federation Ambassador to Trill
Office Held:	President of the United Federation of Planets
In Office:	reference stardate 2/19–2288
Preceded By:	James Abelmare
Succeeded By:	Ra-ghoratreii
Home Member State:	Daran V
Key Advisors:	Xev Chiana (Secretary of State)

Hiram Roth (2223-2288) was a male Human politician in the 23rd century, who served as President of the United Federation of Planets from reference stardate 2/19 to the year 2288.

Roth was an admirer of 20th century politician Theodore Roosevelt, and lived by the words of a Roosevelt quote: "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." (ST novel: Articles of the Federation)

History

In the 2260s, Roth was part of the Federation Diplomatic Corps. In that time, he served as ambassador to Trill when it became a member of the Federation. (ST reference: Federation: The First 150 Years)

Presidency

In 2286, Roth presided over a session of the Federation Judiciary Council that considered what actions to take against Admiral James T. Kirk and his command crew following the hijacking and destruction of the USS Enterprise. During the session, an alien probe entered the Sol system, causing extensive damage to the planetary ecosystem while seeking to make contact with humpback whales. At this time, Roth was forced to give one of Earth's first planetary distress calls:

"This is the President of the United Federation of Planets. Do not approach Earth. The transmissions of an orbiting probe are causing critical damage to this planet. It has almost totally ionized our atmosphere. All power sources have failed. All Earth-orbiting starships are powerless. The probe is vaporizing our oceans. We cannot survive unless a way can be found to respond to the probe. Further communications may not be possible. Save your energy. Save yourselves. Avoid the planet Earth at all costs. Farewell..."

When Kirk and company were able to bring a pair of such whales from the 20th century to the present and save Earth, Roth and the Judiciary Council demoted Kirk to the rank of captain and assigned him to the newly-christened USS Enterprise-A. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Voyage Home)

Roth spent much of the remainder of his term focused on the recovery of Earth following this near-catastrophe, often working himself to the point of illness. (ST novel: Articles of the Federation)

The Klingon government was highly displeased with the outcome of Kirk's hearing, and in 2287, Ambassador Kamarag declared during a Council session that the Klingon government was putting a price on the head of Kirk. Roth contacted Kirk personally to tell him of what had transpired. (TOS comics: "The Return!", "The Sentence")

In 2288, Roth was elected for another term in a landslide, only to die on the day the results were in. Before his death, Roth sent Trill ambassador Curzon Dax to the Korvat colony in 2289 to speak with the Klingon Delegation.(ST reference: Federation: The First 150 Years) A special election was then held, elevating Ra-ghoratreii of Efros to the presidency.

The state dining room in the Palais de la Concorde was named the Roth Dining Room in his honor. Roth had spearheaded the effort to recycle the wood from seawrecked ships into the tables that filled that hall. (ST novel: Articles of the Federation)

Alternate Timeline

In an alternate timeline where the Cetacean Probe could not be stopped from ravaging Earth, President Roth ordered Dr. Carol Marcus to restore the Earth's atmosphere through the use of the Genesis Device. On the day the device was deployed, Earth was invaded by the Klingons, and Roth died of a heart attack while fleeing aboard Starfleet One. (Star Trek: Myriad Universes novel: The Chimes at Midnight)

The Federation President in Star Trek IV, played by actor Robert Ellenstein, went unnamed onscreen. The name Hiram Roth was first used in Articles of the Federation. In the FASA RPG's Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update his name was given as Alistair Fergus.

Appearances in Chronological Order

2286

• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (TOS movie)
• "The Corbomite Effect!" (TOS comic)
• "Marriage of Inconvenience" (TOS comic)

2287

• "The Return!" (TOS comic)
• "The Sentence" (TOS comic)
• "Repercussions" (TOS comic)
• "Fast Friends" (TOS comic)
• "Cure All" (TOS comic)
• "Not...Sweeney!" (TOS comic)
• "Going, Going..." (TOS comic)
• "...Gone!" (TOS comic)
• "The First Thing We Do..." (TOS comic)
• "...Let's Kill All the Lawyers" (TOS comic)
• "Trial and Error!" (TOS comic)

2288

• "Timecrime" (TOS comic)
• "Nightmares!" (TOS comic)
• "Call Back Yesterday" (TOS comic)

External Links

• Hiram Roth article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.