Early Years: Born the son of a Harkonnen Baron, Vladimir showed an early interest in attaining power, and was trained to become the heir to House Harkonnen, ahead of his more mild-mannered half-brother Abulurd. During this time, his father served as head to the House Harkonnen and as Siridar and Baron of the planet Giedi Prime.

Vladimir built upon the earlier success of his predecessors, gradually making House Harkonnen more successful through blackmail, subterfuge and treachery.

Leadership Style: However, his expectations in this sense were not easily achieved. He deemed Glossu too brutish and stupid to be an effective successor. And despite showering Feyd-Rautha with praise and the promise of eventual leadership, his hold over the cunning and impulsive youth remained tenuous.

The Baron recognized efficiency and talent in people, and he has shown remarkable insight in knowing people. This was shown explicitly in the promotion of Kryubi and the maintenance of the twisted Mentat, Piter De Vries. This was also implied in the way he developed the roles his nephews (Feyd and Glossu) eventually took, in an ultimate, yet unsuccessful plan to reinstate Harkonnen power in Arrakis.

In addition to sadistic homosexual tendencies, Vladimir Harkonnen also harbored destructive personal inclinations. He had a penchant for medical procedures that encouraged skin infections, and revelled in devising elaborate torture methods for his enemies. Additionally, he flaunted his morbidly obese body form and the health complications that went with it.

As a leader of a Major House, Vladimir proved to be incredibly cruel, earning House Harkonnen its notorious reputation. He had no qualms in using widespread torture, murder and slavery to maintain power. The cruelty also characterized the way House soldiers and administrators handle subordinates and prisoners. And though he was generally cunning, his arrogance and intense hatred of House Atreides proved to be his un-doing.