Jedi Council

Since the Jedi Order's inception, a council comprised of Masters has been responsible for guiding its members. The first documented Jedi Council, founded by the Jedi Order's originators, Masters Rajivari and Garon Jard, consisted of week-long meetings. These meetings were held with the goal of enhancing the Order's wisdom and improving its ability to defend against the dark side. In the early years of the Old Sith Wars, Masters were stationed on Ossus, and later at the Jedi Temple located on Coruscant. While the initial High Council governed alone from Coruscant for numerous centuries, three additional Councils were formed to supervise more specific aspects of the Order. These were the Councils of First Knowledge, Reassignment, and Reconciliation. Each of these focused on particular areas that were too specialized for the High Council to effectively manage alongside its broader responsibilities.

Each of the Coruscant Councils selected its own members through a unanimous voting process, and each had a designated leader. After governing for many centuries, all four Councils were disbanded in 19 BBY as a result of the Sith conspiracy known as Operation: Knightfall, as well as Order 66. Both of these were military operations that were legally executed by the Grand Army of the Republic.

The Jedi High Council functioned as the Order's main leadership group, consisting of twelve Jedi Masters who engaged in discussions and deliberations on all facets of the Order. The Council included five permanent members who committed to serving for life. Additionally, there were four long-term members who served until they chose to resign, as well as limited-term members who served for specific durations. Headed by the Master of the Order, the High Council interacted directly with the Office of the Supreme Chancellor. Although the vast majority of members throughout history were Masters, there were some exceptions, such as Ki-Adi-Mundi and Anakin Skywalker. The latter was the first and last Jedi ever appointed to the Council by the Supreme Chancellor.

The Council of First Knowledge was made up of five Masters, with the Caretaker of First Knowledge as its leader. This Council was responsible for overseeing the Temple-based academy and its educational programs. It also provided guidance to other Jedi, drawing upon the knowledge of past scholars. To achieve this, the Council protected and maintained the Temple Archives and its holocron vaults, along with the Shadow program at the Temple.

The Council of Reconciliation, consisting of five members, aimed to resolve conflicts through diplomatic means. It worked with the Galactic Senate and the Republic Diplomatic Corps in an effort to resolve political impasses. Serving as the initial representation of the Republic to worlds considering joining, this Council deployed diplomats and ambassadors to facilitate discussions and negotiate treaties.

The Council of Reassignment managed the Jedi Service Corps and its various branch councils. It organized tasks for Initiates who did not complete the academy, as well as for Knights with specialized skills. This Council oversaw the missions and assignments within this branch.

By 35 ABY, the New Jedi Order had formed a Masters' Council. Unlike the High Council, which essentially functioned as an advisory body to the Chief of State within the Alliance government, the Masters' Council served as the Order's primary governing body. It addressed matters strictly related to the Jedi and operated independently from the Alliance government. The extent of its authority over the Jedi Knights was a subject of debate. The Masters' Council convened alternately at the new Jedi Temple on Coruscant or at the new Academy on Ossus. Following the conclusion of the Swarm War, the Galactic Alliance High Council was dissolved, and a more authoritative Jedi Council was established in its place.

While the main Jedi Council was located on Coruscant, other planets throughout history housed their own Jedi academies, each governed by its own council. Some of these councils may have been subordinate to the High Council.

Before the Exar Kun War, the Dantooine Jedi Enclave was led by Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, who was murdered by Exar Kun. During the Great Hunt, the Enclave was governed by a four-member council that answered to the High Council on Coruscant. The members of this council included Vrook Lamar, Bala Nisi, Qual, and Aleco Stusea. This council had authority over the Jedi in the section of the Outer Rim that included Dantooine and Taris.

By the time of the Mandalorian Wars, two council members had been replaced, and the Dantooine Enclave Council consisted of Masters Vrook Lamar, Zhar Lestin, Bala Nisi, and Vandar Tokare. This council was taken aback when the Jedi Exile disobeyed Atris and chose to fight in the Mandalorian Wars. By the Jedi Civil War, Bala had been replaced by Master Dorak. The fact that Vrook Lamar and Vandar Tokare were also members of the Jedi High Council might suggest that the Dantooine Enclave Council was a subset of the High Council. This council was responsible for restoring Darth Revan's shattered mind and implanting a new identity into his brain. Following the destruction of Taris, they also retrained him in the ways of the Jedi.

The council was dissolved after Darth Malak's bombardment of the Jedi Enclave. Masters Dorak, Vandar, and Zhar managed to escape, only to meet their deaths a few years later on Katarr.

Vrook, who also survived the attack, eventually returned to Dantooine. Along with two other Jedi Masters who escaped the First Jedi Purge following the Jedi Civil War—Kavar and Zez-Kai Ell—he held a High Council meeting within the rebuilt Enclave. However, the three Masters were severed from the Force by Kreia and died as a result of their dependence on the energy field when they attempted to cut the Jedi Exile off from the Force.

After the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was destroyed in The Sacking of Coruscant, the council relocated to Tython, which became the new location of the Jedi Council during the Great Galactic War. Its members included Satele Shan, Bela Kiwiiks, Orgus Din, Nikil Nobil, Wens Aleusis, Oric Traless, Giffis Fane, Jaric Kaedan, Tol Braga, Syo Bakarn, and Barsen'thor.

In 3964 BBY, leading up to the Mandalorian Wars, the Tarisian Jedi Council consisted of Masters Lucien Draay, Feln, Q'Anilia, Raana Tey, and Xamar. They were in charge of managing and training at the Tarisian Jedi Academy. This council reported to the Dantooine Jedi Enclave Council, which in turn answered to the Jedi High Council on Coruscant. However, this council also had hidden loyalties and secretly operated under the supervision of the Jedi Covenant. As a result, shortly before the Mandalorian Wars began, the graduating class of Jedi Padawans who trained there were murdered by their own masters.

Following the Jedi Civil War, Master Atris gathered the remaining Jedi for a secret assembly on Katarr, a world inhabited by the Miraluka. Unbeknownst to the other Jedi, Atris revealed the assembly's location in the hopes that the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus would appear. However, his power far exceeded the Jedi's expectations. Nihilus drained the Force from the entire planet, resulting in the deaths of all the Jedi on Katarr, as well as all of the native inhabitants, with the exception of Visas Marr.

Atris's clandestine academy on Telos IV featured a circular room with seating, similar to one found in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. It is not known if a council ever convened there. The Jedi artifacts from the Dantooine Jedi Enclave, including scrolls and holocrons—some of which predated even Ossus—were relocated to this secret academy before Dantooine was attacked. Due to this extensive collection of ancient Jedi knowledge, and with so few Jedi sanctums remaining in the galaxy, Brianna and Atris may have returned there with the other Lost Jedi—Bao-Dur, Visas Marr, Mical, Mira, Atton Rand, and Bastila Shan—to rebuild the Jedi Order while the Jedi Exile ventured into the Unknown Regions in search of Revan.

The Almas Academy was overseen by the Almas Council, which over time included Nerra Ziveri, Lanius Qel-Bertuk, Kirlocca, Jurahi, Ti-Amun Tiro, Devan For'deschel, and Darrus Jeht. This Council consisted of all the Masters who served as instructors at the Academy. The Council was subordinate to the orders of the High Council on Coruscant. For example, in 31 BBY, the Jedi Knight Alec arrived in the Cularin system in search of the dark Jedi Karae Nalvas. Although the Almas Council agreed that Nalvas posed a threat, they adhered to the High Council's guidelines and allowed Alec to handle Nalvas without their intervention. However, the Almas Academy remained prepared to act if Alec or the High Council changed their minds.

During Order 66, Aleenan Jedi General Kazdan Paratus avoided the massacre at the Jedi Temple by fleeing instead of defending it like other Jedi, such as Cin Drallig and Shaak Ti, which resulted in their deaths. His cowardly escape to the planet Raxus Prime eventually led him to become a disillusioned and reclusive Jedi. Overwhelmed by guilt over the Temple's destruction, he recreated the Jedi Temple using scrap metal found across the junk planet and even constructed models of Council members in an attempt to cope with his grief. This entire structure was destroyed when Darth Vader dispatched his apprentice Galen "Starkiller" Marek to eliminate the reclusive Jedi after receiving information from his spies. During the battle between Marek and Paratus, Marek discovered that Paratus had animated his mock Jedi. Each fake Jedi was armed with a weapon, such as a force pike or vibroblade. Galen defeated each of them easily, while Paratus recovered. Throughout Paratus's exile in his mock Jedi temple, he clearly became consumed by grief over his failure to protect the temple during the fall of the Jedi. This was evident when he shouted things at Marek, such as "I must protect the younglings!"