President Katniss Everdeen
"Katniss Everdeen, a small town girl from District 12 who survived the Hunger Games and turned our nation of slaves into an army."
~Quote by President Alma Coin, on the eve of the invasion of the Capitol, 2177
Katniss Everdeen is the 9th President of Panem, and the fourth to preside over the new Republic of Panem, following the success of the Mockingjay Revolution. Katniss Everdeen, although well-known and revered throughout Panem, had humble origins as the daughter of a coal miner in District 12, one the poorest districts in pre-Mockingjay Panem.
Born under the reign of President Coriolanus Snow, Katniss was brought into a world of destitute poverty, hunger, and brutal oppression. At a young age, she witnessed her father get killed in a mine explosion and took on the burden of caring for her mother and younger sister. As the family's provider, she made constant forays into the nearby forest to hunt game which she used to both feed her family and trade for other essentials.
When Katniss was 17, her younger sister was chosen to participate in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. She volunteered in her place, to save her life, and won the 74th Hunger Games against all odds. After being crowned a victor, she returned to District 12 to live a life of luxury but her actions during the Hunger Games had sparked a revolt across Panem. As a result, in the next year's 75th Hunger Games which were designated as a "Quarter Quell," President Snow decided to punish her by requiring the victors of the past Hunger Games to participate.
Katniss however destroyed the arena of the 75th Hunger Games and was rescued by revolutionaries based out of District 13. She remained in District 13 to recuperate from the trauma of the Hunger Games, and became the icon of the Revolution, also known as the "Mockingjay." As the Mockingjay, she was the prime star of many of the revolution's new propaganda pieces attacking the Capitol. She soon travelled the nation, bringing awareness to their cause and rallying up resistance.
When the revolutionary army stormed the Capitol in late 2176, Katniss joined a special squad that was tasked on being the "on-screen faces of the revolution" although their squad eventually was disbanded and Katniss led the remnants on a mission to assasinate President Snow. Their squad ultimately failed and Katniss barely escaped death after President Coin ordered the bombing of the Capitol's City Circle, killing both the Districts' medics and Capitol children.
After she recovered from her injuries, Katniss was given the ceremonial duty of executing President Snow for his crimes against the nation after a tribunal found him guilty. Instead, she ended up executing President Alma Coin, who was both responsible for trying to organize another Hunger Games as well as bombing innocent civilians and trying to blame Snow's regime for it. Because of her actions, she was arrested and deemed mentally instable, being exiled back to her home in District 12.
Following the assasination of President Cecelia Paylor and the concurent reign of President Silica Holmes, many in Panem began looking for a new leader who would unite the nation and bring about an era of stability. A coalition of Senators and military officials ended up launching a coup and overthrowing President Holmes, calling for a new constitutional convention. The transitional government held a special election in which Katniss Everdeen was the sole candidate and won unanimously.