Supreme Chancellor was the designation given to the individual who served as both the Head of State and Government, as well as the Senate President and Senate Chair of the Galactic Republic. Occasionally, the title President of the Republic was employed as a substitute for Supreme Chancellor. The Office of the Supreme Chancellor primarily denoted the group of advisors vital to the Chancellor, including the Vice Chair and financial advisors; while the "office" existed, its influence was limited.
The senators and representatives of the Galactic Senate elected a Supreme Chancellor from among themselves to serve terms lasting four years. The Senate could remove the chancellor from their position at any time through a Vote of No Confidence. From 1400 BBY to 1000 BBY, all elected Chancellors were Jedi, but this trend ended with the election of Tarsus Valorum in 1000 BBY.
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 3900 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 3653 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 3649 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 3645 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 3641 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 40 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 36 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 32 BBY
- Galactic Republic Chancery election, 28 BBY
In the waning years of the Galactic Republic, particularly following the Ruusan Reformations, the Supreme Chancellor's position held relatively little power. However, by virtue of also being the President of the Senate, the chancellor possessed some authority over the Senate's bureaucratic processes, such as the ability to convene a special session of Congress. A chancellor could also exercise a prerogative to bypass minor aspects of Senate procedure and had complete control over the Right of Speech within the Senate, even having the power to expel a senator in extreme circumstances. The Chancellor also led the Senatorial Council.
Despite its limitations, the position remained highly prestigious. The Chancellor maintained a grand office in both the Senate Rotunda's Chancellory and the dome-shaped Senate Office Building in Galactic City. The proper form of address for the Chancellor was "Your Excellency." The symbol of the Chancellor's office, as well as the Galactic Senate as a whole, was a fanned spear. This emblem was prominently displayed on the Chancellor's podium located in the center of the Senate Rotunda's Main Chamber. When present in the Main Chamber, the Chancellor typically wore a Veda cloth robe. Humanoid Chancellors were outwardly identified by an azure blue sash worn around the waist, matching the color of the Senate Guards and known as the "Blue Band of Chancery," making this color forbidden for others to wear. A Senator displaying blue in their wardrobe, such as Palpatine's blue collar, signaled their own aspirations for the Chancellorship. The Galactic Senate elected the Chancellor from its own members to a four-year term. Term limits restricted a Chancellor to serving only two consecutive four-year terms.
Chancellor Finis Valorum was in office during the Blockade of Naboo and oversaw the dispute between Naboo and the Trade Federation. He was removed from power when Queen Amidala, at the urging of Senator Palpatine, initiated a vote of no confidence.
The office's power significantly increased during Palpatine's tenure as Chancellor. He successfully persuaded the Senate to grant him extensive "emergency" powers in response to the Separatist Crisis and subsequently the Clone Wars, including an unconstitutional extension of his term beyond 24 BBY for the duration of the Separatist Crisis and authority as Commander-in-Chief of the new military during the Clone Wars. The Chancellor gained greater direct control over administrative matters and was permitted to override local planetary and sectorial governments. The Sector Governance Decree enabled him to appoint military governors to every planet within the Republic, while the Security Act amendment granted him complete authority over both the Jedi Order and the Republic military, effectively removing the oversight previously held by the Jedi and the Senate.
Ultimately, Palpatine transformed into a dictator and declared himself Emperor of the galaxy, thereby abolishing the Chancellorship and converting the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. The New Republic did not reinstate the position, opting instead to designate its Head of State and Government as the Chief of State. Despite the Chancellorship's long-standing association with good governance since the inception of the Galactic Republic, Palpatine's thirteen years in the office, coupled with his subsequent reign as Galactic Emperor, permanently tarnished the once-esteemed position, rendering it too controversial for revival in the New Republic.
The Chancellor of the Republic was addressed as "Your Excellency" (in contrast to the "Your Imperial Majesty" used during the later Galactic Empire), for example when speaking with officers of the Grand Army of the Republic such as Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin. When present in the senate, the Chancellor traditionally referred to themself in the third person as "The Chair"/"The Chair(wo)man" to emphasize their role as primus/a inter pares (first among equals); however, Palpatine notably deviated from this practice.
It's possible that "Chancellorship" wasn't the original name for the Republic's leader. In older works, even as far back as 1976's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization, the Republic's leader was referred to as President of the Republic or President of the Senate, though this could simply have been another title held by the Chancellor. Further complicating matters, The Essential Chronology and The New Essential Chronology use both titles when describing the Republic's leader during the Great Sith War. It's conceivable that the offices of President and Chancellor initially existed separately but were later merged, possibly as part of the Ruusan Reformation. Furthermore, Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary initially referred to Palpatine as the President of the Galactic Senate, but Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary later corrected this to Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate.