The Supreme Chancellor, also known as the High Chancellor, the Republic Chancellor, and rarely referred to as the chief of state, was the head of state of the Galactic Republic. When more than one individual held the title at one time, those who held it together were known as Co-Chancellors. The office of the chancellor was ceremonial with powers limited, with the Galactic Senate exercising much of the executive and legislative process instead, which lasted for approximately one thousand years prior to the Imperial Era.
Tarsus Valorum served as the first chancellor following the fall of the Old Republic, and the Galactic Republic's restructuring during the Ruusan Reformations. The galaxy left a dark age in which the Sith were defeated by the Jedi Order and the populations of the Core Worlds became eager to expand their reach into the Outer Rim Territories.
During the High Republic Era Orlen Mollo and Kyong Greylark served as co-chancellors of the Republic on the promise they could deliver greater results than a single chancellor. Eager to unite the galaxy, the chancellors oversaw an effort to expand the Republic. Digrenara was the chancellor sometime prior to the election of Lina Soh, who chancellery sought to unite the galaxy, reinforced by her ideologies of unity and peaceful coexistence.
In the time before the Invasion of Naboo, the chancellery had become virtually powerless and hampered by bureaucratic procedure, corporate interests, and rampant corruption in the Senate. Chasen Piian and Kirames Kaj were Supreme Chancellor several years before Finis Valorum's election. Disillusioned with the state of the government, Queen Padmé Amidala successfully called on the Senate to remove Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum from office. Relying on a sympathy vote due to Naboo's predicament, one of the Queen's advisors, Senator Sheev Palpatine, was elected to succeed Valorum as Supreme Chancellor.
The Galactic Republic experienced democratic backsliding during Palpatine's tenure as the threat of open war for the first time in a thousand years, the Senate granted emergency powers to Palpatine to remain Supreme Chancellor long after the expiration of his elected term. Palpatine then bypassed the Military Creation Act, consequently making him the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic Military. During the Clone Wars with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, during which the constitution was amended giving him near-total power over the Republic Military and to bypass the Galactic Senate in such matters. The chancellor became even more powerful when the InterGalactic Banking Clan ceded control of its assets to the chancellery. In effect, Palpatine became the most powerful chancellor since before the Ruusan Reformations.
Near the end of the war, Palpatine revealed his true identity as Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord who masterminded the conflict, to the Jedi. After the Jedi High Council attempted to arrest the chancellor, Palpatine decreed that all Jedi were enemies of the state, and therefore, subject to summary execution. With the Jedi removed as an obstacle and having gained unprecedented control over the Senate as well as the Supreme Court, Chancellor Palpatine proclaimed himself Emperor of the First Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. However, the title was assumed by Mon Mothma, leader of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and officially restored by the New Republic.
The office of Supreme Chancellor was weak and hampered by bureaucratic procedures during the final years of the Galactic Republic.
The powers of the Supreme Chancellor were limited and hampered by the bureaucratic procedures of the Galactic Senate during the final years of the Galactic Republic. Nevertheless, it was the prerogative of the chancellor to summon the senators to a special session of Congress. Additionally, the chancellor could issue executive orders, such as an order requiring a senator to leave the capital for security purposes. The chancellor's power also meant they could officiate a wedding. A chancellor was also allowed to step down from power should they chose, although they could also then decide to reinstate their chancellorship. Under a Vote of No Confidence, a chancellor could be removed by force by the Galactic Senate.
When more than one individual served as chancellor at the same time, the title of Co-Chancellor saw use; Orlen Mollo and Kyong Greylark were Co-Chancellors during the High Republic Era, campaigning together on the promise two chancellors could deliver twice the results. Co-Chancellors were not supposed to travel aboard the same starship, but an exception could be made in cases of emergency or other extenuating circumstances. In the end, Greylark would reflect that, in some ways, the double chancellor act had worked well, but it had failed in others. Under the administration of Sheev Palpatine, the last chancellor of the Republic, the post gained greater authority through the emergency powers bestowed by the Senate in response to the secession of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. As head of state, Chancellor Palpatine also served as Commander-in-Chief of the newly-formed Republic Military. At the height of the Clone Wars, control of the InterGalactic Banking Clan was transferred to the Office of the Chancellor, making the chancellery more powerful than ever before.
The title of Supreme Chancellor was given to the elected leader of the Galactic Senate of the Republic. Under the Galactic Constitution, the chancellor was limited to two four-year terms. Supreme Chancellor Chasen Piian established the B'ankor Refuge around 1300 BBY, resettling the B'ankora species on the planet Coruscant—the capital of the Galactic Republic—in the aftermath of a cataclysm that devastated their homeworld.
Tarsus Valorum, a member of House Valorum, was the first Supreme Chancellor of the modern Galactic Republic centuries before the rise of the Empire. The Republic Era spanned roughly a millennium, ranging from the Republic's rebirth in 1032 BBY to the proclamation of the New Order in 19 BBY.
Kyong Greylark and Orlen Mollo were co-chancellors of the Galactic Republic.
Multiple politicians held the title of Supreme Chancellor during the High Republic Era, a period in which the Republic and the Jedi Order both reached the height of their power and influence. Orlen Mollo, a Quarren, and the human Kyong Greylark served as joint Co-Chancellors of the Republic around 382 BBY. Campaigning together on the promise they could deliver greater results than a single chancellor, the two were elected and then re-elected together. Eager to unite the galaxy, the chancellors oversaw an effort to expand the Republic into the Outer Rim Territories, find new hyperspace routes, and establish a reliable communications network in the Rim. While Greylark remained on Coruscant with the Senate, Mollo, who better understood the Rim, traveled across the Galactic Frontier.
Greylark also had a son named Axel Greylark, whose exploits made him a subject of HoloNet gossip. In secret, Axel had also established ties with the anti-Jedi Path of the Open Hand cult but tried to undermine their efforts after falling in love with Jedi Knight Gella Nattai during a mission to the Eiram and E'ronoh system, where he represented his mother's office after Mollo had started the outreach mission. The twin worlds of Eiram and E'ronoh were locked in an ongoing conflict that was seemingly settled thanks to the Republic and Jedi intervention, with Axel arrested for the destruction his actions designed to undermine the Path caused.
After peacetalks between Eiram and E'ronoh dissolved and kicked off the Battle of Jedha, restarting the entire war, Axel was freed from his imprisonment by the Path, whose leader, Elecia Zeveron, hoped to use Axel and his connection to the chancellery to secure greater power for her cult. Deducing the galaxy was at risk should she stay in office and wanting to finally help her son as a mother, Greylark responded by leaving office. To Mollo's surprise, he found himself the sole leader of the Republic, although Greylark did promise to aid in the transition to a single chancellor. The Path would be shattered with the Battle of Dalna, which also served to reunite Eiram and E'ronoh, as well as provide Axel and his mother a chance to begin rebuilding their relationship.
Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh sought to unite the galaxy under the High Republic.
Digrenara was the chancellor sometime prior to Lina Soh, who served as chancellor around 232 BBY. Chancellor Soh sought to unite the galaxy through the expansion of the Republic, a policy that the Jedi emulated by establishing way stations in the Outer Rim Territories. One great project undertaken during Soh's time in office was the Starlight Beacon, which Soh hoped to represent the Republic's commitment to the Outer Rim. However, much of Soh's subsequent time in office would be defined by the Nihil conflict, in which the Nihil marauders, who in a sense were descendants of the Path of the Open Hand, warred with the Republic to secure what they saw as their freedom. The Republic suffered a major loss when the Nihil destroyed Starlight Beacon. Under Soh's leadership amid the conflict, the Republic also grew closer with the Jedi Order.
In 200 BBY, a Supreme Chancellor led the Republic, but most Begamorians did not know who that Chancellor was. Finis Valorum, a descendant of the first chancellor, served as an administrator in the government of Supreme Chancellor Skor Kalpana.
The Togruta politician Kirames Kaj was Supreme Chancellor several years before the Invasion of Naboo. Around the same time, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was invited to join the ranks of the Jedi High Council. Aside from the High Council and Jinn himself, only Chancellor Kaj knew about Jinn's candidacy. By then the candidates who were most likely to succeed the outgoing chancellor were Elissiar and Finis Valorum.
Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum presided over the Senate during a time of rampant corruption and political intrigue.
After winning election in 40 BBY and then re-election in 36 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum presided over a Senate that was perceived as highly corrupt and too bureaucratic to be an efficient government. Although he governed the Republic with good intentions, Valorum was seen as an ineffective civil servant whose reputation was tarnished by accusations of corruption. The Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY compelled Queen Padmé Amidala to beseech Valorum for his support against the Trade Federation and its occupation of her homeworld, but the chancellor's ability to intervene was hampered by the bureaucratic procedures of the Senate. Senator Palpatine, Naboo's galactic representative and one of the queen's closest advisors, counseled the young monarch to call on the Senate to cast a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership. Amidala did so after it became clear to her that, under Valorum, the Senate would debate the issue in a committee, allowing Naboo to remain under the Trade Federation's control indefinitely unless immediate action was taken.
Palpatine was nominated to succeed Valorum, as were the senators of Alderaan and Malastare, respectively Bail Antilles and Ainlee Teem. The occupation of Naboo generated widespread sympathy for Palpatine's homeworld; as a result, the senator of Naboo was elected to the office of Supreme Chancellor by the invasion's end. Although he vowed to restore integrity to the Senate, and to bring peace and prosperity to the Republic as a whole, Palpatine would in fact be the last Supreme Chancellor in galactic history.
Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was a skilled politician who rose to power during the final years of the Galactic Republic.
No one in the Senate knew that Sheev Palpatine was secretly Darth Sidious: the Dark Lord of the Sith. Sidious conspired to restore the Sith to power by taking control of the Republic and destroying its Jedi protectors. As Palpatine, he was a "political mastermind" who used a crisis to rally the citizens of the Republic under his leadership. He therefore orchestrated the invasion of his homeworld in order to gain support for his election as Supreme Chancellor. Sidious then engineered the Clone Wars—the first pan-galactic military conflict in a millennium—not only to remain in power despite the constitutional term limits of his office, but also to increase his executive authority as a wartime chancellor.
During the last days of the Separatist Crisis, Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks of Naboo proposed a motion that the Senate grant emergency powers to the Supreme Chancellor. Threatened by the Separatist Droid Army that the Jedi discovered on Geonosis, the Senate obliged the Gungan representative's request, giving Chancellor Palpatine the authority to unilaterally form the Grand Army of the Republic. Empowering the chancellor allowed the Republic to take possession of the clone troopers from Kamino without the Senate delaying the process. However, Binks' proposal had far reaching consequences that ultimately led to the fall of democracy and the rise of the fascist New Order.
Chancellor Palpatine's influence over the Galactic Senate grew as the Clone Wars continued.
With the Confederacy of Independent Systems under the leadership of Darth Tyranus, the Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious, Palpatine was able to control both sides of the conflict. He proclaimed his support for the Republic and its democratic principles, while at the same time, he ensured that his chancellery continued long after his term had expired. As the clone troopers and their Jedi Generals deployed across the galaxy to fight armies of battle droids, the War Council Advisory Panel briefed Palpatine every day during the war. In addition, Lobbyists implored the chancellor to deploy troops to favored worlds. Republic High Command only focused on strategic goals, while the chancellor would consider morale and politics. Even though this could cause friction between High Command and the Supreme Chancellor, the organization ultimately served at the pleasure of Palpatine.
The conflict with the Confederacy helped to greatly expand the chancellor's authority with additional wartime powers, resulting in the marginalization of the Senate and democratic backsliding in the Republic as Palpatine executive power increased. By 19 BBY, the chancellery effectively controlled the Senate and the courts, and the Republic Military, and the InterGalactic Banking Clan, which gave Palpatine the financial means to build an empire. The Sector Governance Decree also allowed him to send governors into star systems to unite them into common organizations.
The Republic and the chancellery ended with Darth Sidious' ascension as Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
Upon learning that Palpatine and Sidious were one and the same, the Jedi Order attempted to apprehend the Sith Lord for his crimes, but ultimately failed due to betrayal by the fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. After declaring every Jedi an enemy of the state, Palpatine convened the Senate for his final address as chancellor, announcing his intention to reorganize the Galactic Republic into the First Galactic Empire. The office of Supreme Chancellor was consequently replaced by the position of Galactic Emperor, a title that Sidious claimed as absolute ruler of the galaxy, ending the thousand-year era of democratic rule.
The New Republic chancellorship was nearly replaced by the office of First Senator.
Despite the abolition of the Galactic Republic and the chancellorship, the title was preserved under the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a resistance movement that opposed the Empire. Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila served as chancellor of the Alliance and retained the title under the New Republic, the Alliance's successor. Although the Charter of Chancellor retained the emergency powers granted to the late Palpatine by the former Galactic Senate, Chancellor Mothma disapproved of additional war powers and intended to abolish them after the Galactic Senate reconvened on Chandrila.
By 28 ABY, twenty three years after the end of the Galactic Civil War, the chancellorship had been effectively reduced to the status of a figurehead devoid of executive authority. Senator Leia Organa, who once served in the Imperial Senate, observed that Palpatine's legacy as Supreme Chancellor had tainted the executive branch. The Senate accordingly took steps to neutralize the chancellor of the New Republic, having no desire to see another democratic head of state accumulate the emergency powers that allowed Palpatine to become a dictator. Lacking the charisma of Mon Mothma, the chancellors that succeeded her were deemed ineffective leaders, or even useless, according to Han Solo, due to the powerlessness of their office. As a result, the Centrists faction sought to replace the chancellorship with a stronger executive post, the First Senator, in hopes of promoting stronger leadership in the central government.
Excellency was an honorific style used by Sheev Palpatine during his chancellorship. As such, he was occasionally addressed as "Your Excellency." In the Senate Chamber, Chancellor Valorum referred to himself as "the chair," not as "I."
The chancellor's office was located near the pinnacle of the Senate Office Building.
The Chancellor's Suite was the official residence and the office of the Supreme Chancellor—a formal set of chambers of office located in the Senate Office Building—included a small accommodation suite where the chancellor could rest during periods of crisis that potentially required round-the-clock attention.
The chancellor could enter the suite through a concealed entrance from his office; there was also a hidden passage that allowed his aides to discreetly access this area. Unique to Palpatine was his frequent usage of the suite's offices, which included the Supreme Chancellor's public, ceremonial office, as well as a private office. The latter was maintained for Republic and Sith dealings.
During the chancellery of Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor mostly resided in a private apartment complex at 500 Republica, an exclusive residential tower located in the prestigious Federal District of Coruscant.
The Senate Guard was an elite security force tasked with protecting the Supreme Chancellor and the Galactic Senate.
The Senate Guard was an elite security force entrusted with the safety of the Galactic Senate. In addition to protecting members of the Senate, the "Blue Guard," as they were informally known, served as personal bodyguards of the Supreme Chancellor. They also provided security for key government facilities, such as the Senate Building and the Senate Office Building, the latter containing the Chancellor's office. Though stationed on the capital world of Coruscant, the guards' protective mission included undertaking off-world assignments, in which they accompanied either the chancellor or senators who traveled across the galaxy representing the Republic.
During the Clone Wars, the Senate Guard was set aside by Chancellor Palpatine, who favored his crimson robed Red Guards.
Sheev Palpatine formed his own bodyguards, Red Guard, that were to be entrusted with the safety of the chancellor alone. Throughout much of the Clone Wars, however, the Senate Guards continued to serve as Palpatine's bodyguards, a responsibility shared with their elite counterparts, the Senate Commandos. During the Festival of Light, the Senate Guard coordinated the implementation of security operations with both the Coruscant Guard and the Jedi High Council.
By the final months of the war, security for the chancellor was provided by Red Guards and Coruscant Guard clone shock troopers, and, instead of the Senate Guard, the clone shock troopers came to serve as the protection of government officials and buildings. In time, Palpatine did away the Senate Guard altogether, leaving its functions to be taken over by Imperial stormtroopers and the Royal Guard.
The first mention of what would become known as the Supreme Chancellor was within the novelization of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In the novel's prologue, it was stated that "the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic." Beginning with Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in 1999, the title became canonically known as Supreme Chancellor.
- William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First
- Disney Infinity 3.0
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga