A female human being, Mina Bonteri hailed from the planet of Onderon. Before the [Clone Wars](/article/clone_wars], Bonteri represented Onderon within the Galactic Senate and acted as a guide for Padmé Amidala of Naboo. A strong friendship developed between the two in the Senate; however, their bond weakened when Bonteri began to secretly work for Count Dooku and the Separatist secessionist movement, during a time when numerous worlds started organizing a separation from the Galactic Republic. Ultimately, the Clone Wars began, and Bonteri became a member of the Separatist Senate, where she was the senator representing the Japrael sector.
One year into the war, Amidala, Bonteri's former friend who still served in the Republic Senate, reached out to her, requesting assistance in negotiating a peace initiative. Bonteri and Amidala had a clandestine meeting, after which they started working together and recognized the importance of ending the conflict. However, Darth Sidious learned of their plans and, desiring the continuation of the war, plotted Bonteri's assassination. Following a bombing in the Republic capital of Coruscant that disrupted the peace talks, the initiative was permanently shelved after Bonteri's death during a Republic attack. Although Dooku publicly withdrew the Separatists from negotiations, blaming Republic forces for Bonteri's demise, Separatist operatives were actually the ones responsible. Bonteri's son, Lux, succeeded her in the Senate. Nevertheless, he abandoned the Confederacy upon discovering that Dooku had orchestrated his mother's murder.
Before the outbreak of the [Clone Wars](/article/clone_wars], specifically by 28 BBY, Mina Bonteri was the senator representing the planet of Onderon, which was her homeworld. At some point prior to becoming a senator, Bonteri and her husband had a son named Lux Bonteri. By 28 BBY, she had already started secretly taking orders from Dooku, the Count of Serenno, who was preparing for the impending secessionist movement by enlisting worlds with populations that favored a populist form of government. Consequently, Bonteri frequently received and responded to calls from the Count within her office, a fact that later caught the attention of Galactic Republic Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Onaconda Farr.
She first encountered Padmé Amidala at a party hosted by Sheev Palpatine, the Chancellor, after being introduced by Senator Rush Clovis from Scipio. They immediately formed a friendship, and because Mina was the first politician to treat Padmé kindly since she joined the Senate six weeks earlier, Mina became a mentor figure to the younger senator. However, their relationship soon clashed with Mina's allegiance to Dooku when Padmé began introducing legislation and motions that opposed Dooku's objectives. Following the Bromlarch crisis, when Mina failed to assist the Trade Federation in taking control of the Mid Rim planet, she was compelled to end her mentorship of Padmé. Despite this, they remained friends until the true start of the Separatist Crisis. This marked the last time Padmé saw Lux until the middle of the Clone Wars, a conflict between the Republic and the Separatists that began two years later.
When the Clone Wars began, Bonteri had become a member of the Separatist Senate within Count Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems. She and her son moved to Raxus Secundus, the Confederacy's capital planet, where they resided in a home located in Raxulon. At some point during the war, Bonteri's husband was killed by Republic clone troopers during a battle that took place on Aargonar. She also befriended Governor Tawni Ames of Desix.
Almost a year later, Amidala contacted Bonteri to discuss a potential peace initiative between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy. Amidala and her friend, Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi Padawan, secretly visited her on Raxus to discuss the proposed initiative. Initially, Bonteri was doubtful about the plan's success, but she resolved to do everything she could to persuade the Separatist Senate to consider it. During a session of the Confederate Senate, Bonteri called for a vote to commence peace talks with the Republic. However, her efforts were undermined by a terrorist attack on Coruscant led by General Grievous under Dooku's orders.
Bonteri was killed in what appeared to be a Republic attack following the failed peace initiative. However, Republic spies discovered that Dooku's agents were responsible for her murder. Her son attempted to avenge his mother's death by briefly joining the Death Watch. He then went back to Onderon and joined the rebels in freeing the planet and restoring Ramsis Dendup to his position on the throne. Impressed by the Jedi Order's efforts to liberate Onderon, Lux pledged to guide the people of Onderon back into the Republic as their new senator in the Galactic Senate.
Bonteri's name and image were featured in Star Wars Insider 121, which was released on October 26, 2010. She later appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series episode titled "Heroes on Both Sides," where Kath Soucie provided her voice.