Ziro Desilijic Tiure

"Oh, Ziro the Hutt, Master of the Hutt Clan on Seven Systems, I am sorry, your Highness."

- KRONOS-327 addresses Ziro by his formal title

Ziro Desilijic Tiure, also known as Ziro the Hutt, was a Hutt male crime lord who controlled seven star systems in the name of the Hutt Clan during the decline of the Galactic Republic. A native of the planet Sleheyron, Ziro eventually left Hutt Space in favor of the galaxy's Core Worlds and established his residence on Coruscant, the galactic capital of the Republic. In addition to his father and mother, Ziro's family included Jabba Desilijic Tiure, his nephew who fathered the Huttlet heir Rotta. Gorga Desilijic Aarrpo was another influential relative of Ziro, serving as a member of the Grand Hutt Council.

In the year 22 BBY, Ziro formed a secret pact with Count Dooku&mdash;the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems&mdash;during the early days of the Clone Wars. With the help of the Separatists, Ziro had his great-nephew Rotta abducted and taken to a B'omarr monastery on the distant world of Teth. Knowing the Jedi Order would send their own to rescue the Huttlet, Ziro hoped that the deaths of Rotta's would-be Jedi saviors would lead to a conflict between Jabba and the Republic. With Jabba removed from power, Ziro would be in a position to seize control of their clan.

Ziro's role in the conspiracy was discovered by Senator Padmé Amidala, who confronted the gangster in his nightclub on Coruscant during the mission to rescue Rotta. With Rotta safely returned to his father on Tatooine, Ziro was taken into custody by the Coruscant Guard. However, as the war progressed, the Grand Hutt Council regarded Ziro as too dangerous to be left in a Republic prison, given his knowledge of their inner workings. As a result, the Hutts recruited the bounty hunter Cad Bane, who freed Ziro and turned him over to the Hutt Council. Although Ziro escaped the Hutts as well, he was ultimately murdered in 21 BBY by the alien singer Sy Snootles, Ziro's one-time lover whom Jabba hired to kill his uncle and retrieve the Hutt Council records.

Biography
At some point, Ziro was born to Mama the Hutt and had a brother named Ebor. He then had an affair with Sy Snootles, one of his nephew Jabba's dancers. However, Ziro ended the affair and went to Coruscant. There, he operated a nightclub.

Clone Wars
During the Clone Wars, Ziro made a deal with Separatist leader Count Dooku; Dooku's assassin, Asajj Ventress, would kidnap his nephew Jabba's son, Rotta. However, Ziro then learned from Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala that the Jedi had rescued Jabba's son. Fearing that his role would be discovered, Ziro contacted Dooku, informing him of Amidala's investigation. Dooku assured Ziro that Jabba believed him about the Jedi killing his son. Knowing Jabba would execute the Jedi responsible, Dooku assured Ziro that he would become master of all the Hutt Clans when the Jedi would bring Jabba to justice. Ziro was then ordered by Dooku to eliminate Amidala if she continued investigating. Ziro and his IG-86 sentinel droids then found Amidala. When Dooku realized that it was Amidala, he told Ziro that his allies would pay him for delivering Amidala to him. Ziro, agreeing to the deal, had Amidala placed in his dungeon and thanked Dooku for the profitable alliance. However, Ziro learned that Amidala had contacted her protocol droid, C-3PO, for help. Thus, he decided to execute Amidala, knowing his powerful friends in the Republic Senate would protect him. Ziro and droids were then attacked by Commander Fox and his detachment of the Coruscant Guard that 3PO called. Ziro was then held at gunpoint by Amidala. Ziro tried to plead innocence to no avail to Amidala. Ziro contacted Jabba on Tatooine, and Amidala informed Jabba that Ziro was behind Rotta's kidnapping. Ziro also confessed that Dooku also helped in the kidnapping. Jabba vowed that Ziro would be severely punished.

Imprisonment
"Oh, you can't imagine the unspeakable things I've suffered. The horror! I doubt I'll ever really recover."

- Ziro, after his rescue from prison

Ziro was imprisoned in the Judiciary Central Detention Center. Desiring revenge on Amidala, Ziro able to hire bounty hunter Aurra Sing to kill her. When Sing failed, Ziro spoke with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano. When Tano told Ziro that Sing revealed that he paid her, Ziro confessed to hiring her. However, Tano tricked him and his sentence was increased.

During this time, Jabba and the Hutt Council, knew that it was only a matter of time before Ziro would give the Republic Senate the Council's records. Thus, the council decided to hire Cad Bane to free Ziro. Bane and his team were able to hold several members of the Republic senate hostage, and force Chancellor Palpatine to release Ziro. Ziro was brought out when Senator Orn Free Taa arrived and gave the Detention Center's guards a pardon disc. Ziro then boarded HELIOS-3D's speeder and took Ziro to the Senate Building despite his objections. HELIOS-3D and Ziro then pickup-ed Bane's team. After Bane and his group boarded the speeder, Ziro told Bane about his captivity in the detention center and approved of Bane killing off the senators. Ziro congratulated Bane on freeing him, but Bane reminded him that he expected to be paid.

Ziro's death
"What a world…"

- Ziro's last words

Ziro was taken to Nal Hutta where he spoke with Gardulla and the Hutt Council. Despite thanking them for his escape from Republic captivity, Ziro knew they did not want him to reveal the location of the Council's records. He threatened to have the records dropped off at the Republic senate should he be killed. Thus, the Council kept Ziro locked up in a prison cell. Ziro was able to escape with help from his former girl friend Sy Snootles. Ziro and Nootles were able to make their escape by stealing a speeder and went to Mama's house. Ziro was able to convince his mother to give Ziro her ship in order to go to Teth. On Teth, Ziro went to his father's grave, where the council records were hidden. However, Snootles had secretly been hired by Jabba to retrieve the records. Snootles then shot Ziro and left his body to be found by both the Jedi and Bane.

Behind the scenes
Ziro the Hutt first appeared in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated film, voiced by prolific voice actor Corey Burton. Burton went on to reprise the role in four more episodes of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Though so far the only Hutt who speaks Galactic Basic onscreen, this was not originally intended. Ziro was meant to speak Huttese into a microphone which would translate his speech into English, but this idea was dropped when the producers felt that younger audiences wouldn't understand what the translator was. Later, George Lucas stepped in and specifically asked for Ziro to sound like Truman Capote. The character was a favorite of the production team, and they planned to have him return in the subsequent The Clone Wars series.

Following the release of The Clone Wars film, Dave Filoni commented during an interview with MTV News that Ziro's sexuality was "ambiguous," leading media to speculate whether Ziro was the first LGBT alien in the Star Wars franchise. Filoni stated, however, that Ziro was biologically asexual.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * Dark Disciple
 * Dark Disciple
 * Dark Disciple
 * Dark Disciple
 * Dark Disciple