Marcellin Wessel

Marcellin Wessel was one of the first regional governors, or moffs. He had been appointed by Palpatine (19 BBY) under the Sector Governance Decree, which authorized the creation of regional governors to administer entire sectors. Wessel's early elevation to moff hints at a history of unquestioned loyalty to Palpatine, since such appointments were made only on behalf of those who had proven their loyalty, and as moffs were intended from the start to be answerable only to the Emperor, it was crucial that they be beings who could be depended on without reserve.

It is not known exactly what happened, but evidently Moff Wessel's fortunes turned for the worse. At the height of the Galactic Civil War (3 ABY), he had been relegated to the governorship of Yinchorr, a dead-end position in a useless star system. Wessel decided that he could advance his career again by capturing Princess Leia Organa, so he kidnapped the leaders of the various Yinchorri elder's councils and offered to trade their lives back to the Yinchorri in exchange for Organa. With no choice, the Yinchorri agreed that their beloved elders were worth the life of one human. They set a trap for Leia, but Wessel double-crossed the Yinchorri, angering them sufficiently to overthrow him and his regime.