Grand Nagus (former) Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Talking about his depiction of Quark, Shimerman said the character developed significantly during the start of the sixth season of Deep Space Nine, during a story arc in which the Dominion took control of the Deep Space Nine station: He soon learns that although things may appear to be good under Dominion rule and life is pretty good, they still don't have liberty, and you've got to fight for it.

The other Ferengi characters didn’t have that, and it made a huge difference.”[5] Before opening a bar, known as "Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade", Quark served as a cook aboard a Ferengi freighter for eight years, according to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Profit and Loss".

According to his own admission, he was rising to the top of the Ferengi Business world as an assistant to the Grand Nagus until he made the mistake of making love to his boss’s sister which resulted in him becoming a cook.

In the episode "Business as Usual", Sisko admits that he had "cut [Quark] a lot of slack in the past [and] even looked away once or twice when [he] could have come down hard."

The two meet initially in a scandal involving Quark's mother Ishka, who had earned profit despite this being illegal for a female.

Later, when Quark is falsely diagnosed with a fatal disease, Brunt anonymously buys the Ferengi bartender's remains six days in advance.

After Quark is accidentally transported 400 years into the past to Roswell, New Mexico 1947 he dreams of altering the space-time continuum by the creation of a vast Ferengi economic Empire across the universe with himself in charge of it ("Little Green Men").

In a concluding episode of the series, "The Dogs of War", Quark is horrified to learn from Brunt that the Grand Nagus has "reformed" Ferengi world with such "innovations" as prices of official bribes; taxes, social welfare and the institution of a "Congress" of 240 business partners.

("What You Leave Behind") Quark, Rom and Nog do not understand or speak English/Federation Standard, but rather rely on Universal Translators implanted near their ears ("Little Green Men").

In "Move Along Home" when he was apparently forced to sacrifice one of four crew members (Sisko, Dax, Bashir and Kira) in a strange alien game, he refused to make a choice, begging for their lives.

He was married to (and divorced from) a Klingon (Grilka) in an incident that also garnered him considerable respect from the Klingon community for his bravery, when he exposed how her husband's rival had tried to attack his House through business measures rather than a straightforward duel and then provoked said rival into trying to kill Quark in a duel when Quark was unarmed and had freely acknowledged that he would lose.

He had a Cardassian love interest (Natima Lang), was shown on several occasions to be attracted to both Major Kira Nerys and Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax, and once tried to seduce a Vulcan member of the Maquis (although this may have been motivated by his own efforts to find out more about the group).

In the non-canon novels set after the series, Quark starts a romantic relation with Ro Laren who has taken Odo's place as head of security.

He is referenced in the Star Trek: Picard episode "Stardust City Rag" when a "Quark's Bar" is seen on the planet "Freecloud" in the Alpha Doradus system.

[7] In 2018, The Wrap ranked Quark as the 25th best main cast character of Star Trek overall, calling him a "valuable ally to Sisko when the chips are down".

[8] In her 1998 book The Soul of Popular Culture, Mary Lynn Kittelson noted that Quark allowed Star Trek writers to discuss controversial topics of money, profit and capitalism.