Nathan Samuels Minister Nathan Samuels was a male Human and high - ranking United Earth government official in the 2150s . Early life . Samuels ' father died in a freighter accident when Samuels was eighteen years old . Feeling anger and resentment towards the pilot , who was Denobulan , Samuels joined the extremist xenophobic group Terra Prime . Eventually , he left and distanced himself from the organization in subsequent years , ultimately finding their viewpoint unacceptable . Coalition of Planets . Samuels witnessed in horror the Xindi attack of 2153 , wherein seven million Human s were killed . He believed , following the attack , that Earth ' s survival depended upon creating alliances with other worlds . He would work toward that goal , building upon the foundation that Captain Jonathan Archer was building when he successfully fostered cooperation between Vulcan s , Andorian s , and Tellarite s , species who had historically been at odds with each other . In 2155 , Samuels presided over discussions in San Francisco between delegates from several planet s regarding membership within a proposed " Coalition of Planets " and set an ambitious goal of six week s for drafting a charter . During talks , a nurse , Susan Khouri , entered the room and died of wounds sustained from a phase - pistol . When Samuels learned that Khouri was affiliated with Terra Prime , he asked Starfleet investigators to keep that fact hidden , as it could derail talks . He was forced to have investigators share their information with Archer ' s crew , however , when Archer confronted him with his own past with the group , possibly damaging his political career . ( ) Unfortunately , the talks were soon interrupted when Terra Prime ' s leader , John Frederick Paxton , hijacked the verteron array on Mars and threatened to destroy Starfleet Command if all non - humans did not leave the solar system . Samuels learned of this with all the alien representatives via Paxton ' s broadcast , which he ordered blocked immediately , but it was impossible . Further , he learned that the Vulcan and Andorian embassies were surrounded by protests , suggesting it is a coordinated effort . This cast doubt with the ambassadors , including Soval and Thoris . Samuels informed Archer that the United Earth Council had ordered that the array be destroyed . Archer objected , noting that , if the array were destroyed , it could cause a massive explosion that would also destroy Utopia Colony . Instead , the Council allowed Archer to take a team into Paxton ' s facility on a mission to regain control of the array . When it appeared that they would not succeed in time , however , Samuels attempted to order Hoshi Sato , who had been placed in command of " Enterprise " , to destroy the array . But , Ensign Sato stood up to Samuels citing Starfleet regulations that stated that he did not have the authority to give her orders or to relive her of command . But , destroying the array proved unnecessary , as Archer was able to take control at the last second . After the crisis with Terra Prime was averted , Samuels assembled the delegates once again and appealed to them to continue talks , noting that they can ' t allow the Humans ' past to win over their future . He then turned the floor over to Archer , who made an impassioned plea with them to not abandon the Coalition . Archer was successful , and negotiations for the alliance went forward . ( ) Apocrypha . In the novels , Samuels was established as the United Earth Prime Minister .