Galactic Federation of Free Alliances

"A peaceful Galactic Alliance is the strongest pillar of a peaceful Galaxy."

- Luke Skywalker

The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, better known as the Galactic Alliance, was the galactic government directly following the New Republic. Incorporating most of the known Galaxy, the Galactic Alliance was the first government to achieve this since the Galactic Republic.

Founding, 28 ABY
Following the New Republic's decisive victory at the Battle of Ebaq 9, Chief of State Cal Omas realized that a new government was needed if the Galaxy was to survive the horrors of the Yuuzhan Vong War. During the invasion, political infighting and weak leadership led the New Republic to a great number of defeats. Omas realized that the cumbersome organization of the New Republic could not withstand the pressures of the galactic war. As a result, Omas instituted a massive reorganization and streamlining of the government. The new federal system proved sturdier than the confederal style of the New Republic. Named the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, or Galactic Alliance for short, it began the long task of bringing the Galaxy back together.

Making the Alliance galactic
The new government would not be composed of just the old members of the New Republic. Bringing their former adversary, the Imperial Remnant, as well as the Hapes Consortium into the new government, the Alliance achieved what previous governments had long hoped for&mdash;a unified government of the known Galaxy. This was further achieved with the cooperation of the Chiss Ascendancy, an insular civilization from the Unknown Regions on the edge of the Galaxy.

Fighting back the Yuuzhan Vong
The first capital of the Alliance was Dac, longtime supporter of both the Alliance to Restore the Republic and New Republic. Its location in the Outer Rim and the presence of a massive fleet ensured that the new capital was secure. Once the government was up and running, the task of finding an end to the destructive conflict became its first goal. With the combined efforts of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force, the Jedi Order, and other allies, the Yuuzhan Vong surrendered following the death of their leader Supreme Overlord Shimrra during the Liberation of Coruscant.

Galactic reconstruction
Following the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, the need for a capital closer to the center of the galaxy was needed. With Coruscant devastated and "Vong-formed" beyond recognition, the government of the Galactic Alliance planned to relocate to Denon, a world in the Core that had escaped bombardment and occupation by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Alliance began massive reconstruction efforts on Coruscant, in the form of the Reconstruction Authority. The new government devoted itself to rebuilding and repairing the galaxy, left in disorder following the war. By 35 ABY, the Galactic Alliance had relocated it's government to Coruscant, though some viewed this as a public relations move, as there was still much work to be done. While the problems with repairing Coruscant were great, there were some bright spots, like the construction of the New Jedi Temple and the new Senate and Executive Buildings. Other major construction projects included the massive Defense Force Command Compound, giving the Alliance’s military a new command center to coordinate their forces across the Galaxy.

Swarm War
The Galactic Alliance faced its first major crisis following the Yuuzhan Vong war, in 35 ABY, when the Killiks were rediscovered. Following the discovery of a Dark Nest of Killiks led by Dark Jedi Lomi Plo, war broke out between the Chiss Ascendancy and the Killik hives. Relations between the Killiks and the Alliance quickly soured, as their addictive black membrosia began to ruin the lives of various insect members of the government. This was further exacerbated by the death of Supreme Commander Sien Sovv, who was killed when a spacecraft piloted by a Vratix drunk on the membrosia collided with the admiral’s private transport, killing him and his entire staff. War broke out when Dark Nest hives staged a coup on the Alliance world of Thyferra and tried a similar attack on the Verpine. Fortunately, the efforts of the New Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance Defense Force ended the conflict before it turned into a full scale galactic war.

Second Corellian Crisis
In the years following the end of the Swarm War, the Alliance became increasingly controlling of local governments, with some more independent worlds beginning to view it as a resurrected Galactic Empire. By 40 ABY, relationships between the Alliance and several local governments had deteriorated to the point that the Alliance decided to show a preemptive display of military might near Corellia. When the Corellians launched a counterstrike at the show of force, full scale galactic war once again loomed. As both sides struggled to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis, mysterious acts of treachery and sabotage threatened to derail peace efforts.

Government and politics
Governmental changes between the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance included a new constitution, a stronger judicial branch, and a better system of checks and balances that curbed the power that had been almost exclusively in the hands of the Senate. The new federalism properly defined the roles between the government and its memberworlds.

The Galactic Alliance government was led by a Chief of State and a High Council, comprised of Jedi, Senators, and members of the Alliance's military and governmental leadership.

The new alliance was a federal republic, properly defining the roles of both the federal government and the memberworlds and states. A stronger federal system was the largest change in the overall structure of the government following the disolution of the New Republic.

Executive branch
The Alliance, like the New Republic before it, was headed by the Chief of State. The Chief of State was elected by recieving a majority of votes in the Alliance Senate. The Chief of State was also the President of the Senate, again following the similar structure of the old New Republic system. A major difference between the two systems was that the Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance seemed to posess more executive powers, designed to curb the power of the legislature. This form of checks and balances was one of the major differences that set the new government apart from the old. The Chief of State was aided by both a High Council and a Advisory Council, which consist of the heads of the various governmental, military, and intelligence departments.

Legislative branch
The main legislative body of the Galactic Alliance was the Senate. The Senate was composed of representatives from all memberworlds and states that compose the new government. The powers of the Senate were curbed under the new constitution by a series of checks and balances, namely increasing the powers of both the executive and the judiciary. Despite these changes, the Senate remains a powerful and important part of the Alliance government. Some corruption had begun to creep back into the Senate following the end of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong, but the majority of the senators remain commited and loyal to the Alliance.

Judicial branch
The judicial branch of the Alliance government recieved the greatest increase of power under the new Alliance constitution. The increase of judicial oversight and power was designed to help curb any legislative abuse or corruption, which was becoming increasingly common during the last years of the New Republic.

Members
The Yuuzhan Vong invasion provided a useful catalyst to unite the worlds and governments of the Galaxy under one government. Besides the former memberworlds, systems, and sectors of the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant and Hapan Consortium also joined the new Galactic Alliance. It is unknown whether Hutt Space joined as well, though they did contribute ships and weapons to the Liberation of Coruscant.

Relationship with New Jedi Order
The first act of Luke Skywalker regarding the Galactic Alliance was the formation of a new Jedi Council. The Jedi were seen widely as a sort of special agent to the new government, and were widely used and spread thin across the Galaxy. Also, Jedi Masters were asked to join the new Galactic Alliance Advisory Council to the first Chief of State, Cal Omas. Eventually, Skywalker pulled the Jedi away from the Advisory Council, claiming that the Jedi must always have a fair and balanced view on the universe, by serving, not governing.

Yuuzhan Vong invasion
From the start of the Galactic Alliance on Dac, Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order was closely involved with the new government. Seeing as how the Jedi played a major role in bringing the new government about, due to the Order's support of Cal Omas as Chief of State during the New Republic Presidential election, 27 ABY. As the new Alliance began to reform and take the fight back to the Yuuzhan Vong, a High Council was formed, consisting of six Jedi and six non-Jedi members, headed by the Chief of State. This council directed policy during the last years of the Yuuzhan Vong War, working together to bring the war to a end. Despite some tension over the Alpha Red project, the solidarity between the Alliance and the Jedi remained firm, as both played a key role in the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong during the Liberation of Coruscant.

Post-war years, 30-34 ABY
Following the defeat of the Vong, the Galactic Alliance devoted itself to the task of rebuilding the Galaxy. As a gesture of gratitude, the Alliance built a New Jedi Temple, though this move was viewed by some Jedi as an attempt to further tie the Order to the new government. Regardless of this, the Jedi actively aided the government in bringing the galaxy back together, fighting pirates, serving as mediators in planetary disputes, and relocating peoples who lost their worlds during the war. The High Council was still considered one of the highest bodies in the Alliance, though the Galactic Alliance Advisory Council had begun to see increased influence.

Killik crisis
By 35 ABY, the Jedi Order and the Alliance had a somewhat strained relationship. While the Jedi Order was commited to aiding the Alliance in restoring peace to the Galaxy, some Jedi felt that the Order had no place involved with government. The more radical Jedi feared that they had become nothing but an effective tool for government policy. While the relationship was strained further during the Swarm War, it held firm as both Alliance and Jedi forces managed to avert total galactic war with the Chiss and Killiks. After Luke Skywalker declared himself Grand Master of the Order, the Jedi withdrew from the High Council, realizing that the Jedi should leave government policy making to the Alliance. While this move would cause some additional friction between Cal Omas and Master Skywalker, the government and Jedi continued to work towards the common goal of a peaceful Galaxy.

Economy
The Galactic Alliance's predecessor, the New Republic, had a very complex and diverse economy. The economy practically collapsed during the Yuuzhan Vong War. So immediately after the war, the Alliance began massive reconstruction efforts throughout the Galaxy, in the form of the Reconstruction Authority. The Authority was tasked with such things as re-terraforming Coruscant and finding a new homeworld for the Ithorians and other species that lost their homes to the Vong and more.

Galactic Alliance Defense Force
The military arm of the government was know as the Galactic Alliance Defense Force. Led by the Supreme Commander, the Defense Force consisted of the Galactic Alliance Navy and Army. These federally controlled forces were tasked with numerous roles, ranging from securing hyperlanes to protecting key worlds, as well as facing any aggressors that sought to attack or harm the Alliance. Its structure was extremely similar to the older New Republic Defense Force, though its size was significantly larger, due to the build up of warships during the war. During the latter stages of the war against the Yuuzhan Vong, the government maintained four strategic fleets. Their tactics often were hit-and-fade strikes popularized by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War, due in part to retired admiral Ackbar helping reorganize the Defense Force in the months leading up to the Battle of Ebaq 9. Five years after the end of the war, the Defense Fleet seemed to have built back up to pre-war strength, with at least five strategic fleets under the government's command. The Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet, under Bothan Admiral Nek Bwua'tu, was assigned to patrol the Hydian Way, though it was redeployed during the Killik crisis.

Imperial/Hapan navies
Some key member states, like the Imperial Remnant and Hapes Consortium, maintained their private navies and militaries for personal defense. These forces were under the direct control of these member states and they seemed to be at least partially autonomous of the Defense Force. This was evident during the Killik crisis, when the Hapan navy unilaterally decided to protect the Killiks from the Chiss, nearly starting a war between the Alliance and the Chiss.

Behind the scenes

 * The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances was given its name as a nod to&mdash;and as a means of incorporating into the canon&mdash;fans' use of the acronym GFFA (in other words, the Galaxy Far, Far Away) when referring to the Star Wars galaxy as a whole.

Appearances

 * The New Jedi Order series
 * The Dark Nest Trilogy
 * The Legacy of the Force series