Gihren Zabi

Gihren Zabi (also spelled Giren) is a fictional character from Universal Century Gundam anime series. One of the heads of the Principality of Zeon, Gihren is the oldest son of Degwin Sodo Zabi, the ruler of Zeon and the instigator of the war with Earth. With the death of Degwin's favorite son Garma Zabi in battle, Degwin withdraws from day to day duties as Zeon's leader which effectively made Gihren the leader of Zeon. This was most evident in the speech Gihren gave at Garma's state funeral. This speech was notable for possibly being the debut of the trademark salute "Sieg Zion!" (translated as "Hail Zeon" or "Zeek Zeon" in some (but not all) American official products). Giren was gifted with a high IQ and ingenious oratory abilities. He and his sister Kycilia Zabi were constantly at odds with each other as both had similar political goals but different methods.

Although Gihren was successful in reducing his father's role to that of a figurehead ruler, he must still endure Degwin's critisicms and scorn. Degwin saw Gihren as little more than an updated version of historical dictator Adolf Hitler, a role that Gihren was all too happy to take to heart.

In an effort to circumvent the Antarctic treaty which forbade nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and colony drops on Earth, Gihren's most ambitious project was the solar ray cannon. This consisted of a hollowed out colony cylinder rebuilt into a giant carbon dioxide laser with the ability to destroy entire fleets. Gihren learned that Degwin, tired of the war, decided to take his personal fleet to a designated area in space where he would meet the fleet of Earth Federation representative General Revill and discuss peace negotiations. Gihren arranged for an accidental firing of the colony laser which destroyed Degwin and Revill's entire fleet. This desicion may have cost Gihren one of his tactical advantages, as the premature firing burned the laser out.

Kycilia, eventually learning that this was no mere accident personally executes Gihren for the crime of patricide. As a result, she takes over during Battle of A Ba A Qu.