Leontyne Saresh was a Twi'lek female who held the positions of senator, governor, and ultimately Supreme Chancellor during the Galactic War. This conflict involved the reconstituted Sith Empire.
Leontyne Saresh, a Twi'lek female, hailed from a lineage whose ancestors once inhabited the urbanized world of Taris before its destruction. As a young woman, she successfully escaped Imperial slavery. Entering the Republic's government, she rapidly ascended to become a prominent member within the Galactic Senate. Her unyielding principles and outspoken criticism of the Empire led to her appointment as the Senatorial Supervisory Governor of Planetary Affairs for the devastated world of Taris, a role that had previously ruined the careers of other promising individuals. Saresh, however, embraced the challenge, dedicating her full intellect and resources to guiding the planet's resettlement initiative.
When the Empire invaded Taris in 3642 BBY, effectively dismantling the resettlement project, Saresh managed to flee back to the Republic. By 3640 BBY, she had accrued enough political influence to be elected Supreme Chancellor following the death of her predecessor, Dorian Janarus, at the hands of a bounty hunter. She would later preside over ceremonies recognizing the Barsen'thor of the Jedi Order and the commander of the Special Forces unit Havoc Squad. During the former, she personally welcomed the members of the Rift Alliance back into the Republic.
Two years later, Chancellor Saresh traveled to Keylander Station, which orbited the planet Makeb. Makeb was occupied by the Hutt Cartel as part of their campaign of conquest. From this station, she contacted a Republic operative and briefed them on the situation, with Grand Master Satele Shan and Supreme Commander Jace Malcom participating via holocall. Saresh emphasized that the liberation of Makeb's people was the top priority, but also insisted that the Cartel's ambitions must be permanently thwarted.
Saresh was later dismayed to learn that Makeb was destined for destruction due to the Hutts' reckless exploitation of the planet's core, which triggered massive groundquakes. After a Republic operative succeeded in rescuing millions of refugees aboard a massive ark, the Supreme Chancellor confronted Shalim Avesta, Makeb's de facto Chief of State. She accused him of knowing that the groundquakes were worsening and of manipulating the Republic into helping, knowing they would be obligated to assist when Makeb had nothing to offer. Shalim denied these charges.
The Republic operative reminded everyone of the refugees aboard the ark. Shalim also pointed out that they had Cartel leaders willing to turn against Toborro the Hutt. Saresh expressed her displeasure at the Republic having a worthless ally and a broken one, but acknowledged that these Hutts possessed significant influence, wealth, and power within the Cartel. She inquired of her operative how they should proceed. The operative suggested utilizing the Hutts' fleet to defend lightly defended planets while the Hutts assisted in building a new colony for Makeb's refugees. The Chancellor agreed to the suggestion. She then commended her operative for giving the Republic a chance at winning the war before departing the station.
Subsequently, Saresh, along with Satele Shan and Jace Malcom, delivered a HoloNet broadcast to publicly announce the apparent death of the Sith Emperor. This death was confirmed by a joint Jedi-SIS committee. However, Saresh remained aware that the Dark Council still held the primary power within the Empire, and she declared that the Republic would emerge victorious.
Later in the war, Saresh discovered that Satele's fleet had temporarily allied with Darth Marr against the Order of Revan. Following Revan's defeat on Yavin 4, Saresh communicated with the Grand Master, expressing her dissatisfaction at being kept uninformed. Satele pointed out that Malcom did not share her concerns and stated that they both appreciated the Chancellor's trust in them. Saresh then demanded to be informed when her fleet was back in position.
Saresh later placed a double agent, Rane Kovach, within Sith Intelligence to provide her with information on both Sith Intelligence and the SIS. Through Kovach, Saresh learned that Theron Shan had assembled the Sixth Line, a group of Jedi commandos working for the SIS, on an unauthorized mission to Ziost. She personally contacted Shan to reprimand him for his unilateral actions. Though Shan attempted to explain the situation on Ziost, Saresh declared her intention to invade the planet to cripple the Empire and confront the former Sith Emperor, Vitiate, directly. Despite Shan's pleas, the Republic fleet had already arrived. This only worsened the situation, as Vitiate began possessing combatants on both sides to intensify the violence to fuel himself. Saresh was later contacted by Kovach, who had shut down the Ziost Orbital Defense Command Center, attempting to warn her of the danger Vitiate posed, but she refused to listen, ordering him to continue gathering intel on Sith Intelligence and the SIS.
Theron later managed to persuade Saresh to order a strategic retreat after Vitiate consumed all life on Ziost. In the aftermath, Saresh and Grand Master Satele placed Theron on administrative leave for his unilateral actions.
The Eternal Empire soon overwhelmed the Republic and Sith Empire. At some point, Saresh took the opportunity to remove the former Imperial Elara Dorne from Havoc Squad, though Supreme Commander Malcom defended her and had her assigned to his personal staff. Even after Coruscant was blockaded, Saresh refused to consider surrender. She was eventually overruled by the Senate, and a group of Senators negotiated a cease-fire with the Eternal Empire. Under the treaty with Zakuul, the Republic was subjected to arms limitations and forced to pay regular tribute to Zakuul in the form of raw materials and resources. Unable to overturn the treaty, Saresh nonetheless orchestrated the disgrace or dismissal of those Senators.
As her term as Supreme Chancellor neared its end, Saresh, desperate to retain power, attempted to persuade the Senate to extend her term indefinitely, but failed due to a extortion campaign conducted by the Shroud against the Senate. Removed from power, Saresh, determined to continue the war with the Sith Empire, arranged for a carefully-selected successor, Jebevel Madon, to be elected in her place, whom she intended to control from behind the scenes. Despite the common threat of the Eternal Empire, Saresh remained fixated on fighting the Sith Empire. With a broad base of support, Saresh used her influence to strip the Senate of its authority over military matters and convinced the public that the state of emergency demanded executive action, which many believed was costing the Republic its soul. Her policies were protested by Admiral Bey'wan Aygo, whom she promptly discharged from the Republic military. Sometime afterwards, a small group of military officers attempted to arrest Saresh for her crimes but a traitor in their group sold them out and Madon had them quietly arrested.
Following the invasion of Voss, Saresh learned that the Outlander—a veteran from the previous war who was leading a rebellion against the Eternal Empire—was meeting with Empress Darth Acina on Dromund Kaas to discuss an alliance against Zakuul. She decided to exploit this opportunity to seize control of the Outlander's Alliance. Collaborating with Imperial Minister of Logistics, Gelmid Lorman, promising to allow him to seize power in the Empire, Saresh dispatched a group of GenoHaradan to Dromund Kaas to sabotage Acina's shuttle during the talks, ordering them to recover their targets' bodies. However, the GenoHaradan's assassination attempt failed, as the Outlander and Acina escaped before the shuttle crashed, forcing Saresh to withhold the GenoHaradan's bonus until they find the bodies to further motivate them. Just after Lorman told Theron Shan and Lana Beniko that the Outlander was presumably dead, Saresh called Dromund Kaas and expressed false sympathy for the Outlander's apparent demise, and offered to step in to fill the power vacuum and asked for the Alliance to join her. Theron immediately refused her offer, but Saresh promised that in time they will see that she is right.
Saresh later traveled to Odessen to make her move to take control of the Alliance. Her timing appeared perfect, as some lower-ranking Alliance members were willing to listen to her, uncertain about the Alliance's future without their leader. But just as she began her speech, the Outlander, having survived the GenoHaradan and Lorman's betrayal, confronted Saresh and ended her attempted coup. Saresh refused to apologize for her actions, stating that she saw an opportunity and seized it, and that she deserved to lead the Alliance. She assumed that she would be executed, stating that it's what she and Vaylin would do. Her fate was decided by the Outlander.
Saresh possessed charisma and firmness. During the Taris reconstruction, she encouraged cooperation and perseverance, but she was also strict with those who deviated from her plans. Upon being elected Supreme Chancellor, she promised not peace, but victory over the Empire. However, her hatred for the Empire made her a warmonger who demanded nothing less than its complete defeat, concealing her megalomania behind a facade of patriotism. This was evident when she launched an invasion of Ziost, disregarding warnings about the Sith Emperor's presence, which endangered the lives of the invasion force. She also exhibited tyrannical tendencies after the Eternal Empire's invasion, ruining or dismissing anyone who disagreed with her. Ultimately, she revealed herself to be an unrepentant, power-hungry manipulator by attempting to murder the Outlander to seize control of their Alliance.
Leontyne Saresh is a character featured in the 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic and its subsequent expansions: Rise of the Hutt Cartel, Shadow of Revan, and Knights of the Eternal Throne. Her voice is provided by Julianne Grossman.
In Chapter II: Run in the Shadows of Knights of the Eternal Throne, players can choose to either imprison Saresh (a light side choice) or execute her immediately (a dark side choice) for her attempt to seize control of the Alliance. For additional dark side points, players also have the option to punch Saresh before delivering the sentence. Regardless of Saresh's fate, the player will receive an in-game message from Supreme Chancellor Madon, stating that while the actions (imprisonment or killing) will be publicly condemned, the Chancellor is privately grateful to be rid of her.