Supreme Chancellor

"Now they will elect a new Chancellor, a strong Chancellor. One who will not let our tragedy continue."

- Sheev Palpatine, to Padmé Amidala

The Supreme Chancellor, also known as the High Chancellor and rarely referred to as the chief of state, was the elected leader of the Galactic Senate, the governing body of the Galactic Republic. The chancellor was elected through a majority vote by and from the senators who represented the various worlds across the galaxy. As head of the Senate, the chancellor's office was located in the Senate Office Building of the Senate District on Coruscant, the capital of the Republic.

Prior to the chancellorship of Sheev Palpatine, the office holder was limited to two four-year terms. However, fear of the Separatist Crisis enabled Palpatine to remain in office for years after his second term ended. During the Clone Wars, the chancellor gained far greater authority and influence through emergency wartime powers, which effectively transformed the post into a dictatorship. At the height of the conflict, the InterGalactic Banking Clan ceded control of its assets to the Republic's executive branch, making Chancellor Palpatine even more powerful. As he began exerting his influence over the Jedi Order, the Jedi High Council discovered Palpatine's true identity as Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord who masterminded the Clone Wars as a means for acquiring greater power. The High Council attempted to take stewardship of the Republic by arresting the chancellor, but the betrayal of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker put paid to their plans.

Having framed the Jedi for treason, Chancellor Palpatine sentenced every Jedi to death via Order 66&mdash;a command protocol requiring all clone troopers to exterminate their Jedi Generals with extreme prejudice. With the fall of the Jedi Temple, Palpatine summoned all senators to attend a special session of congress, in which the chancellor declared himself Emperor of the First Galactic Empire, thereby abolishing both the Galactic Republic and the office of Supreme Chancellor in 19 BBY.

Powers
"If I may say so, Your Majesty, the Chancellor has little real power."

- Sheev Palpatine, to Padmé Amidala

The powers of the Supreme Chancellor were limited and hampered by the bureaucratic procedures of the Galactic Senate during the final years of the Galactic Republic. Nevertheless, it was in the chancellor's prerogative to issue executive orders to government officials for a number of reasons, including security.

Under the administration of Sheev Palpatine, the last chancellor of the Republic, the post gained greater authority through the emergency powers bestowed by the Senate in response to the secessionist movement of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. As head of state, Chancellor Palpatine also served as Commander-in-Chief of the newly-formed Republic military. At the height of the Clone Wars, control of the InterGalactic Banking Clan was transferred to the Office of the Chancellor, making the chancellery more powerful than ever before.

Background
"In order to ensure our security and continued stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the First Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society!"

- Sheev Palpatine, in his final speech as Supreme Chancellor

The title of Supreme Chancellor was given to the elected leader of the Galactic Senate of the Republic. Under the Galactic Constitution, the chancellor was limited to two four-year terms. A member of House Valorum served as chancellor centuries pior to the Fall of the Republic and the subsequent Age of the Empire. During the Republic Era, Supreme Chancellor Chasen Piian resettled the endangered B'ankora species in the B'ankor Refuge sanctuary on the Republic capital planet Coruscant. Piian was eventually succeeded by Kalpana, who was followed, in turn, by the last two chancellors, Finis Valorum and Sheev Palpatine.

Finis Valorum
"If this body is not capable of action, I suggest new leadership is needed. I move for a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership."

- Padmé Amidala, to the Galactic Senate

Supreme Chancellor Valorum presided over a Senate that was perceived as highly corrupt and too bureaucratic to be an efficient government. Although he governed the Republic with good intentions, Valorum was seen as an ineffective civil servant whose reputation was tarnished by accusations of corruption. The Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY compelled Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo, to beseech Valorum for his support against the Trade Federation and its occupation of her homeworld. However, under the advisement of Senator Palpatine, Naboo's galactic representative and one of the queen's closest advisors, Amidala called on the Senate to cast a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Valorum.

With Valorum removed from office, Palpatine was nominated to succeed him along with Bail Antilles and Ainlee Teem of Alderaan and Malastare, respectively. Palpatine ultimately defeated his fellow nominees due to widespread support and sympathy for his homeworld. As a result, he was elected as the next and last Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.

Sheev Palpatine
"I feel confident that our situation will create a strong sympathy vote for us. I will be chancellor."

- Sheev Palpatine, to Padmé Amidala

Over the next decade, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine consolidated his power during two consecutive terms in office. By the end of his second term, the Separatist Crisis increasingly threatened to become a full-scale civil war, causing the Senate to amend the constitution so that Palpatine could remain in office to prevent the secessionists from leaving the Republic. Palpatine, however, was secretly Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Although he claimed to love the Republic, his true motive was to supplant it with a fascist regime.

By the time of the Clone Wars, the Senate at the urging of Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks granted emergency powers to the office of Supreme Chancellor, which allowed Palpatine to form the Grand Army of the Republic in response to the creation of the Separatist Droid Army. The conflict with the Separatists helped to greatly expand the chancellor's authority with additional wartime powers, resulting in the marginalization of the Senate as Palpatine became dictator in all but name. By 19 BBY, the chancellery effectively controlled the Senate and the courts, as well as the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Republic military.

Upon learning that Palpatine and Sidious were one and the same, the Jedi Order attempted to apprehend the Sith Lord for his crimes, but ultimately failed due to betrayal by the fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. After declaring every Jedi an enemy of the state, Palpatine convened the Senate for his final address as chancellor: the Galactic Republic would be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, with himself as absolute ruler of the galaxy, thereby marking the end of a thousand years of democracy. The office of Supreme Chancellor was subsequently replaced by the position of Galactic Emperor.

Legacy
"Mon Mothma got things done through sheer charisma, but almost every chancellor since her has been''&hellip;" "''Useless."

- Leia Organa and Han Solo

Despite the abolition of the Galactic Republic and the chancellorship, the title was preserved under the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a resistance movement that opposed the Empire. Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila served as chancellor of the Alliance and retained the title under the New Republic, the Alliance's successor. Although the Charter of the Chancellor retained the emergency powers granted to the late Palpatine by the former Galactic Senate, Chancellor Mothma disapproved of additional war powers and intended to abolish them after the Galactic Senate reconvened on Chandrila.

Style of office
"As long as I live, no harm will ever come to you, Your Excellency."

- Anakin Skywalker, to Sheev Palpatine

Excellency was an honorific style used by Sheev Palpatine during his chancellorship. As such, he was occasionally addressed as "Your Excellency." In the Senate Chamber, Chancellor Valorum referred to himself as "the chair," not as "I."

Residence
"Captain. If you must escort me home, I'm leaving now."

- Sheev Palpatine, to CT-7567

During the administration of Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor resided in a private apartment complex at 500 Republica, an exclusive residential tower located in the prestigious Federal District of Coruscant. In addition to his private apartments, the chancellor's office complex included a small accommodation suite where the chancellor could rest during periods of crisis that potentially required round-the-clock attention. The chancellor could enter the suite through a concealed entrance from his office; there was also a hidden passage that allowed his aides to discreetly access this area.

Protection
"Troubling is the treachery of the Senate Guard, Captain Argyus. Revealed all around us, our enemies are."

- Yoda

The Senate Guard was an elite security force entrusted with the safety of the Galactic Senate. In addition to protecting members of the Senate, the "blue guards," as they were informally known, served as personal bodyguards of the Supreme Chancellor. They also provided security for key government facilities, such as the Senate Building and the Senate Office Building, the latter containing the chancellor's office. Though stationed on the capital world of Coruscant, the guards' protective mission included undertaking off-world assignments, in which they accompanied either the chancellor or senators who traveled across the galaxy representing the Republic.

The Red Guard was formed during Sheev Palpatine's chancellery, and was, therefore, entrusted with the safety of the chancellor alone. Throughout much of the Clone Wars, however, the Senate Guards continued to serve as Chancellor Palpatine's bodyguards, a responsibility shared with their elite counterparts, the Senate Commandos. During the Festival of Light, the Senate Guard coordinated the implementation of security operations with both the Coruscant Guard and the High Council of the Jedi Order.

Doubt and uncertainty arose concerning the Senate Guard's allegiance due to the actions of Captain Argyus, the commando officer who committed treason against the Republic. In the final months of the war, Red Guards and Coruscant Guard clone shock troopers supplanted the Senate Guards as the chancellor's protectors. With the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Senate Guard was disbanded and replaced by stormtroopers as well as the Emperor's Royal Guard.

Behind the scenes
The first mention of what would become known as Supreme Chancellor was in novelization of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In the novel's prologue, it was stated that "the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic." Beginning with Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in 1999, the title became canonically known as Supreme Chancellor.

Non-canon appearances

 * William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First