A representative of the Galactic Empire, specifically a governor, was assigned to the planet known as Pesmenben IV. Around the time of 0 BBY, the Human entrepreneur Lando Calrissian tricked the governor into a planetary lease by contaminating the dunes with lithium carbonate. Calrissian, disguised as a non-union mine guard, even forced the governor to hide in a boat, leading to the governor discarding a bribe during a staged raid by fake "union officials." Calrissian successfully executed this scheme without facing any repercussions.
The initial reference to the Imperial governor appeared within the novelization penned by James Kahn in 1983, which was based on the original trilogy movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.