Gregor Vorbarra

Gregor Vorbarra is the Emperor of the Barrayaran Imperium in the sci-fi series the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold.

As of CryoBurn, Gregor Vorbarra is the current Emperor of Barrayar. He consequently rules over Barrayar, Komarr, and Sergyar, the three planetary bodies of the Barrayaran Empire.

His father was the late Crown Prince Serg, and his grandfather was Emperor Ezar Vorbarra. They had both died by the time Gregor was five, therefore, Admiral Lord Vorkosigan ruled as Regent until Gregor reached the age of majority. This was not the last of Gregor's woes as a child, as he became a pawn in a power struggle between the Regent and the usurper Count Vordarian, a struggle that cost the life of his mother, Princess Kareen Vorbarra.

Gregor's name is an apparent inconsistency in the world-building of the Vorkosigan Saga. Vor tradition provides that the first born son has the paternal grandfather's first name, which in this case is Ezar.

Gregor is a fairly progressive and liberal emperor, but must remain even-handed in order to rule effectively. He is also Count Vorbarra, and technically has a vote in the Council of Counts. By tradition, he does not exercise that vote except to break a tied ballot, much like the vote of the Vice President of the United States in the United States Senate. Psychologically, Gregor lives in fear that he carries the madness that afflicted his relatives, particularly his sadistic father Crown Prince Serg, but also the mad Yuri Vorbarra and his relations in the Vorrutyer clan, best (or worst) exemplified by Serg's companion in depravity, Ges Vorrutyer. While capable of great personal warmth, he maintains iron control in most situations, projecting an air of deep calm.

When he came of age, Gregor discovered the truth about the depravities committed by his father, and was so upset he eluded his bodyguards while on a state visit to another planet in the Nexus, and went missing for a time before Miles Vorkosigan found him (The Vor Game).

He is married to Laisa Toscane, a Komarran scion of one of the richest and most powerful families on the planet. The marriage was a critical move (though they were genuinely in love, so the marriage was not merely political) as it served to show a unity between Barrayar and its conquered world of Komarr. (Though some feared it would just be an eternal symbol of Komarr "getting screwed" by Barrayar.)

For many Vor, the marriage was important because it meant Gregor would start producing Imperial Heirs and thus relieve tensions that, should something happen to Gregor, there would be a civil war, as every Vor with a claim to the Imperium would come forth. For Gregor the marriage meant a chance to have children with a woman who was not Vor, and therefore free of the genetic taint that curses the high aristocracy.