The legislative body of the [Galactic Empire](/article/galactic_empire], known as the Dissolution of the Imperial Senate, was terminated when Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine decreed its end as a response to the ongoing Galactic Civil War.
As the Clone Wars drew to a close, Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, convened a special session of Congress and proclaimed himself to be the Galactic Emperor, thereby transforming the former Republic into a New Order reflecting his vision. The Galactic Senate overwhelmingly supported this motion, influenced by Palpatine's widespread popularity after his role in the Clone Wars. Following this regime change, the Galactic Senate was renamed the Imperial Senate, which gradually lost power as planetary governors took on greater control of their respective regions. Furthermore, a minority of Senators, including Bail Organa from Alderaan and Mon Mothma from Chandrila, who had opposed Palpatine's New Order declaration, became increasingly outspoken, posing a significant concern for the Emperor.
Although the many atrocities committed by Imperial authorities were technically illegal until the Senate's dissolution, the Senate's limited power made it difficult to enforce sanctions against these crimes, effectively placing Imperial officials above the law. Nevertheless, the Emperor maintained the Senate to give the Empire's member worlds the illusion of participation in governance. In secret, Palpatine had planned to dissolve the Senate since the Empire's formation in the New Order proclamation, but he needed the body to maintain order until the planet-destroying Death Star battle station was completed. Moreover, Palpatine aimed to solidify his control over the galaxy through measures such as the Public Order Resentencing Directive, which gradually stripped the Senate of its remaining powers and eroded the galaxy's freedoms. Weapons developer Orson Callan Krennic predicted that the Senate would become irrelevant once the Death Star's dish was installed.
While Palpatine had always intended to dissolve the Senate upon the Death Star's completion, his decision to do so in 0 BBY was ultimately driven by necessity to maintain his rule. Shortly after the weapons dish was attached to the Death Star and the weapon was successfully tested on the Holy City of the moon Jedha, an event that had to be concealed to prevent the Senate from discovering the weapon's existence, agents of the Rebel Alliance identifying themselves as Rogue One, soon joined by substantial reinforcements, launched a raid on the Imperial Center of Military Research on Scarif, where the Death Star plans were stored. During the ensuing battle, the Death Star was used once more to eliminate all rebel forces on the planet, along with Krennic and any other Imperials caught in the blast, but Rogue One successfully transmitted the Death Star plans to Princess Leia Organa, the Imperial senator representing Alderaan and a leader within the rebellion.
With the plans for the Empire's superweapon in rebel hands, there was a high risk that its existence would be revealed to the Senate and the media, potentially triggering a governmental crisis and damaging Palpatine's public image as a benevolent leader. Darth Vader, Palpatine's Sith apprentice and enforcer, was sent to retrieve the plans from Organa, but she managed to conceal them within the astromech droid R2-D2. Nevertheless, this incident confirmed that Organa was working with the Rebel Alliance, a fact already suspected by Vader and the Empire but lacking concrete proof, leading to her arrest above Tatooine.
Given the ongoing threat of the Death Star's existence being exposed and the justification provided by the presence of rebel infiltrators within the Senate, the Emperor finally issued the order for its dissolution, confident that the now-complete Death Star would ensure his continued rule. Alongside the Imperial Senate, the Trade Federation—which the Empire had already forced out of business and nationalized—was also completely dissolved. While being held aboard the Star Destroyer Devastator, Organa cited her status as a senator in an attempt to secure her release, but Vader informed her that the Senate was in the process of being disbanded. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin informed gathered leaders of the Empire, the Joint Chiefs, about the situation aboard the Death Star.
With the elimination of the last vestige of the Galactic Republic, Imperial governors assumed total control over their respective territories. In conjunction with the Senate's dissolution, numerous local governing bodies were also disbanded, resulting in widespread unemployment among qualified individuals. Simultaneously, the Imperial Security Bureau initiated the arrest of numerous Senate members, including former members, and transported them to the Arrth-Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant. These former delegates were to remain imprisoned until the Bureau could evaluate their level of involvement with the Rebels. However, Imperial authorities aimed to engage with potential sympathizers, hoping to persuade them to align with the "correct" side.
The authorized holonews outlets dutifully disseminated the official narrative: Rebel traitors had infiltrated the Senate, leading to a terrorist attack on a crucial Imperial Military installation on Scarif. Consequently, to swiftly neutralize this threat and expose the insurgents within the Imperial bureaucracy, Palpatine found it necessary to supersede and suspend the Senate for the duration of the emergency. However, the Empire's aspirations to maintain control through fear via the battle station were shattered by the Death Star's destruction in the Battle of Yavin. With the Senate gone and the Death Star destroyed, the Empire could no longer maintain order through a puppet legislature or enforce it with a powerful symbol of fear. Moreover, the destruction of the Death Star instilled significant hope that a rebellion could succeed.
Eneb Ray, a Rebel agent, and other allied spies attempted to rescue a group of senators slated for execution, but they were ensnared in an Imperial trap. Ultimately, the Arrth-Eno Mission resulted in the death of all the senators and Rebel spies, except for Ray.
Nevertheless, two of the most prominent Rebel senators managed to evade the Empire's grasp. Leia Organa was rescued from the Death Star's detention, and the battle station was ultimately destroyed by the Rebels. Mon Mothma of Chandrila, a longtime insurgent and one of the Rebel Alliance's secret founders, also managed to escape the purge that followed the Senate's dissolution. Despite the assembly having long been a powerless entity, Mothma felt particularly disoriented because she no longer held an official title. Similarly, Leia Organa had always hoped that the Senate would be present at the end to assist in rebuilding the galaxy once the Emperor was gone.