Cosinga Palpatine

"Father of lies."

- Palpatine to his father

Cosinga Palpatine was a Human male aristocrat and the patriarch of House Palpatine, one of Naboo's noble families. A violent man who was regarded by his firstborn son as both grossly inept and disproportionately arrogant, Cosinga spent a considerable amount of time and credits attempting to buy his son's love. Ultimately, the younger Palpatine took the life of Cosinga in an act of rage, using the dark side of the Force to kill his father, his mother, his four younger siblings, and several of the family's bodyguards.

The Palpatines
"The reason I don't respect him is because he's not half as intelligent as he thinks he is. If he could admit to his own weaknesses, I could at least pity him."

- Palpatine, to Hego Damask

Like his forefathers, Cosinga Palpatine was born into the ancient, aristocratic dynasty of the Palpatines, one of the Royal Houses of the planet Naboo. As a young man Cosinga frequently stood on the balcony of the family's Lake Country villa and surveyed the estate's vast grounds, reveling at the site of all that he stood to inherit. Palpatine, his eldest son, regarded this as a testament to Cosinga's mediocrity, as the only thing his father would ever be master of was that which was already owned by right of birth. This stood in stark contrast to Cosinga's ambitious heir, who would ultimately dominate the entire galaxy.

Cosinga's relationship with his family was uneasy at best. The elder Palpatine's wife and younger children were completely subservient to him, even to the point of having no opinions of their own. The only one in his family whom he could not exert his will over as easily was Palpatine. Cosinga was constantly at odds with his firstborn son and heir. The younger Palpatine proved to be a rebellious youth with a penchant for mischief. His father thus used a considerable amount of credits to protect the family from any scandal that Palpatine nearly caused on many occasions with his numerous run-ins with the law. When Palpatine inadvertently killed two pedestrians with a landspeeder, Cosinga forbade him from ever driving again.

However, he ultimately gave in to his Palpatine's stubbornness, even to the point of offering an expensive vehicle in the hopes of bridging the rift between father and son. Although Palpatine interpreted the gesture as a bribe, his passion for competitive racing influenced his decision to accept Cosinga's gift, despite the fact that he still resented him all the same.

Cosinga Palpatine and his eldest son attended two coronations in Theed, and for years to come Palpatine the younger distinctly remembered his father's envy at the events; his ambitions were apparently to wield power as monarch of the Naboo&mdash;his son's, to wield absolute power.

Patricide
"Have you hated me this much?''" "''Enough to want to kill you from the start!"

- Cosinga and Palpatine

By 65 BBY, Cosinga Palpatine was a member of the conservative faction that opposed Naboo's full integration into the Galactic Republic. During the upcoming election for the planet's next monarch, Cosinga and his political allies opposed Bon Tapalo, a candidate whose platform included the promise of integrating the people of Naboo as full members of the Republic.

The young Palpatine developed a sense of pro-unification between Naboo and the Republic as a way of further spiting his father. Without Cosinga's knowledge, he discreetly supplied valuable information to Tapalo's campaign, an act which gained the notice of Darth Plagueis, a Dark Lord of the Sith who masqueraded in public as Magister Hego Damask, owner of Damask Holdings.

Cosinga disapproved of the friendship that his son had forged with Damask. But by attempting to separate Palpatine from Damask's influence, Cosinga inadvertently caused his son to draw upon his hidden connection to the Force, particularly the dark side. Consumed by rage and years of repressed patricidal feelings, Palpatine took considerable pleasure in murdering his father, as well as his horrified mother and younger siblings.

The truth behind the deaths of Cosinga Palpatine and his family was disguised as a tragic accident by Plagueis, who then claimed the orphaned Palpatine as his Sith apprentice, thus renaming him "Darth Sidious" in secret. Cosinga's son ultimately went on to become the Sith Lord who brought about the downfall of the Jedi Order and the Republic, becoming Emperor of the first Galactic Empire in 19 BBY.

Personality and traits
"How cravenly [my] inept father had desired to wield such power!"

- Palpatine

Cosinga Palpatine was an arrogant man, and not nearly as intelligent as he believed, according to his eldest son. Though not lacking in ambition, Cosinga had a mediocre desire for power, possessing no apparent desire to advance beyond his station as a privileged aristocrat. Part of the younger Palpatine's resentment stemmed from his observation of how his father lacked the political savvy necessary to increase House Palpatine to a position of true entitlement and greater wealth. The fact that Cosinga believed he already had all the power and influence that could be obtained further disgusted his son.

As a husband and father, Cosinga Palpatine was feared by his wife and younger children, but utterly despised by his eldest son. One of the few traits the elder and younger Palpatine had in common, other than a thirst for violence, was a fanatical passion for speeder racing. His personal political views were conservative and pro-isolationist. Hence, he agreed with then-senatorial aide Vidar Kim on the prospect of maintaining Naboo's semi-independence from the Republic in order to prevent their homeworld's plasma reserves from being exploited by corporate entities.

Behind the scenes
Cosinga Palpatine was first introduced in the novel Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. The creation of his character, along with those of his wife and children, provided a considerable amount of detail to the once obscure origins of Emperor Palpatine.

Behind the scenes
Cosinga Palpatine was first introduced in the novel Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. The creation of his character, along with those of his wife and his at least other sons and daughters, provided a considerable amount of detail to the once obscure origins of Emperor Palpatine.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis