The Select Committee within the Galactic Empire's Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR) acted as a clandestine body overseeing the commission's five principal agencies. These agencies consisted of the Coalition for Improvements, the Coalition for Progress, CompForce, the Imperial Security Bureau, and the Sub-Adult Group. Whispers suggested a membership ranging from several hundred to thousands, with all COMPNOR bureaus and branches reporting directly to this committee. The historian and Resistance operative Beaumont Kin delved into the Select Committee's activities, documenting his findings in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, published in 35 ABY.
Within the Galactic Empire's vast bureaucratic structure, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR) stood as its largest entity, and the Select Committee operated as a secret arm of COMPNOR. Consequently, COMPNOR wielded significant influence over numerous facets of Imperial society, encompassing the arts, sciences, youth education, law enforcement, and roles within the Imperial Military. The Select Committee directed the five primary divisions of COMPNOR: the Coalition for Improvements, the Coalition for Progress, CompForce, the Imperial Security Bureau, and the Sub-Adult Group. Directives originating from the Select Committee permeated the entire organization, with every branch and sub-bureau of COMPNOR ultimately accountable to it.
The Select Committee's operations spanned the Imperial Era, commencing in 19 BBY and concluding with the collapse of the Empire in 5 ABY. The majority of records pertaining to the Committee's membership were expunged from the Imperial Archives during the Empire's downfall. By the year 35 ABY, Beaumont Kin, a historian and paramilitary member of the Resistance, had conducted research on the Committee, referencing it multiple times in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, published that year. In his writings, Kin posited that the Select Committee maintained a direct line of communication with the Galactic Emperor Palpatine, thereby bypassing established Imperial Advisors like Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and Administrator Sly Moore.
According to Kin's investigations, the only identified members included Crueya Vandron, a significant figure from the Commission for the Protection of the Republic (COMPOR), and Kinman Doriana, formerly an advisor to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Kin also surmised that Armand Isard, the Director of COMPNOR, was undoubtedly a member of the committee. Moreover, Kin suspected that Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin may have served on the committee at some point. Apart from these named individuals, speculation suggested the Select Committee's membership ranged from a few hundred to several thousand individuals.
The Select Committee was initially referenced within current Star Wars canon in Dawn of Rebellion, a supplementary roleplaying sourcebook for the Star Wars Roleplaying series, released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2018. The Select Committee made its debut in the Star Wars Legends continuity with its initial mention in Imperial Sourcebook, a 1989 supplementary book penned by Greg Gorden for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games.