President Alma Coin was the President of District 13 and the leader of the rebellion against The Capitol by the people of the districts of Panem. She is introduced in Mockingjay when Katniss meets her in District 13.

Biography

President Coin first appears in Mockingjay. She is the leader of the rebellion, and President of District 13. She assumes power after the rebellion is successful. Katniss greatly dislikes her because of her ruthlessness. She is very selfish, though tries to seem not, as proven by many acts throughout the novel. Some of these acts include ordering the assassination of Katniss, fire-bombing children in the Capitol, which kills not only the children, but also some rebel medics, including Primrose Everdeen, and killing a great amount of people unnecessarily. She is also very unfair as she was going to put Peeta Mellark, Johanna Mason, and Enobaria on trial for war crimes just because they had been left behind in the arena. She is even more ruthless than President Snow in many respects. As payback for the harsh treatment of the districts, she suggests having a final Hunger Games in which the Capitol's children--most directly related to those who held most power--serve as the 24 tributes. These games were voted upon by the victors, where the majority rule decided there were to be one last game. But the Games never occurred due to Coin's assassination. She was killed by an arrow fired by Katniss Everdeen (partly to avenge Primrose Everdeen's death) during the execution of the former President of Panem, President Snow.

President Coin has been leading and training District 13 for the rebellion against the Capitol. When Katniss arrives in 13 she welcomes her and has her treated for her wounds. She allows Katniss to see the remains of District 12. President Coin is called in by Katniss about her role as "The Mockingjay". President Coin shows no emotion about Katniss' conditions and reluctantly agrees to grant immunity to the victors being held prisoner. Katniss also states that she be the one to kill Snow, and Coin faintly smiles and agrees to flip a coin with her for it. President Coin gathers the whole district together to publicly announce Katniss' condition of immunity for the victors. Katniss goes to her and tells her to add Annie Cresta to the list, which aggravates her though she reassures Katniss that the district never punishes people as frail as Annie. When the meeting starts, Coin tells everyone of Katniss' role and her conditions but adds something else unplanned by Katniss—President Coin says that Katniss will fulfill her role as the Mockingjay or else all of her friends and family are dead.

When the group returns from shooting the propo in District 8 and receive medical treatment from the battle they fought against the Capitol, they meet in the command room. President Coin replays the complete propo for those who have not seen it. After they watch it twice, she discusses what their next move will be and if they should send Katniss into combat again since she was badly injured. After some debating, she allows Katniss to go back into combat when she is fully recovered. She also decides they will shoot more propos.

President Coin is calm during Peeta's interview and warning of the bombing planned by the Capitol. President Coin announces the retreat to the bunkers, and stays with the head of the rebellion to evacuate the entire district. After the first bomb is dropped and after a period of time, she makes an announcement thanking the district for their cooperation and informs them the bomb was not a nuke but caused heavy damage. She tells them not to leave their bunkers unless informed. Later, she announces it is safe to resurface and tells them to go to their new compartments since the old ones were destroyed during the bombing. She approves the idea of Katniss and the group going to the surface to shoot a new propaganda. President Coin and Boggs form a team to rescue Peeta, Johanna, Enobaria, and Annie from the Capitol after Katniss and Finnick Odair down during the propaganda.

She approves of the plan to bomb The Nut and only leave the train station open. President Coin is pleased with all the districts siding with the rebels and can now plan to attack the Capitol. She tells Katniss she must train for three weeks so she can be prepared for what awaits her inside the Capitol. President Coin sends Peeta as a replacement for a fallen member in Katniss' squad because she thinks the propos are too boring. Her real reason is because she thinks Peeta will kill Katniss, who has become too great of a threat as the potential new leader of Panem. After believing Katniss is killed, President Snow appears on television to announce the news. Instead, Beetee hacks the system and airs President Coin. While on air, President Coin introduces herself and informs them about the rebellion, "Dead or alive, Katniss Everdeen will remain the face of this rebellion. If you waver in your resolve, think of the Mockingjay, and in her you will find the strength you need to rid Panem of its oppressors". Katniss easily sees through this message and knows Coin wants her dead.

President Coin formed a plan to break Katniss by killing Prim. She sent Prim in as a medic in the final battle of the war. Prim is killed along with many Capitol citizens and children and rebel medics in an explosion from bombs Gale Hawthorne and Beetee might have invented.

After the bombing, President Coin becomes leader of Panem and puts President Snow on trial. After Snow is found guilty, President Coin gathers the seven remaining victors and ask if there should be a final Hunger Games with the children of the most powerful in the Capitol. Four out of seven vote yes, but the Games never occur because Katniss assassinated Coin.

Death

During the execution of President Snow, Katniss processes the conversation she had with Snow and realizes President Coin was behind Prim's death. So instead of shooting Snow, she turns her single arrow from Gale on President Coin, who is standing on the balcony, and shoots President Coin instead (partly to avenge Prim's death). President Coin falls off the balcony, dead, and as the people shout in fear and horror.

Personality

Though she and Katniss are on the same side, Katniss strongly dislikes President Coin because of her ruthlessness and hunger for power. Despite her affiliation with the rebellion, she is even more ruthless than Snow since she, unlike him, is willing to break her word and lie. She was willing to let Katniss die once she had fulfilled her duties as the Mockingjay, because she sees the girl as a possible threat to her power, and so as to give Katniss the status of a martyr and incite the rebel force further. Her lust for power is such that she kills Capitol children, including her own Medical Corps — with Primrose Everdeen amongst their ranks — to undermine President Snow.

She is very manipulative. According to President Snow, Coin's plan all along was to let the Capitol and the other districts to destroy one another, and then step in to take power with District 13 barely scratched. It was her plan from the beginning. She knows that President Snow will be watching Katniss, and Katniss will be watching President Snow, thus, she has been manipulating them all along.

Physical appearance

President Coin is described as being about 50 years old. She has grey hair that falls in an unbroken sheet to her shoulders. Her eyes are a pale grey, described by Katniss as being like "slush that you wish would melt away". Coin was described as plain, with eyes that could see straight through you.