User:Brandon Rhea/workspace

"To champion democracy is no brave thing. For eons, politicians have done so as naturally as they draw breath. To suggest there is a point beyond which democracy collapses on itself, yielding stagnation and eventually ruin? That demands a degree of political courage so rare as to border on the theoretical."

- Tarsus Valorum, Official Record of the Ruusan Deliberations

Tarsus Valorum was the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic during and immediately following the conclusion of the New Sith Wars, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Brotherhood of Darkness, and was responsible for enacting the Ruusan Reformations that reconstructed the entire Republic. A member and potentially the progenitor of the politically influential House Valorum of Coruscant, Valorum became the first Supreme Chancellor who was not a member of theJedi Order in over four centuries. During his term, the New Sith Wars ended, and he devised the Ruusan Reformations, which dissolved both the Republic Military and the Jedi Order’s Army of Light.

After his term as Supreme Chancellor ended, Valorum remained an ambassador for the Republic, visiting many worlds in an attempt to re-establish their ties to the Republic and to improve galactic relations with non-Republic worlds. One of the more prominent cases of his ambassadorship was when he survived an assassination attempt on Serenno by the Anti-Republic Liberation Front, which was secretly being aided by Darth Zannah and the Order of the Sith Lords.

Ruusan Reformations
"The Republic is crumbling. For the past thousand years it has slowly been decaying and rotting away. A rebirth is the only way to reverse this process."

- Tarsus Valorum in defense of the Ruusan Reformations

By the war’s end, both the Republic’s citizens and the Galactic Senate were eager to put the war behind them. To this end, Valorum devised a series of Republic-wide reforms that he called the Ruusan Reformations, named for the battle that ended the New Sith Wars. These reforms included changes to how the Jedi Order operated within the Republic; because Valorum saw the Army of Light as being created as a reaction to the Brotherhood of Darkness, he felt that it or any other Jedi military force was not required. The Jedi Council would also operate under the supervision of the Republic's Judicial Department. At their core, the reforms were meant to unify the Republic and end the cycle of wars that had faced the galactic body for centuries.

Outside Jedi affairs, Valorum also reorganized the millions of sectors within the Republic to one thousand twenty-four, believing it would allow help with ease of representation in the Galactic Senate. Hoping to curb corruption and decentralize power away from powerful Core sectors that held the most representation, Valorum confined representation to those sectors, with a few exemptions made for politically powerful Core Worlds. Other slots, such as those for species and cultural entities, were also granted. One such reform allowed "functional constituencies," such as corporations, to be granted Senate representation.

Valorum chose Valenthyne Farfalla, a Jedi Master who had initially been thought of as the next Supreme Chancellor before Valorum was elected, as his first olive branch in reaching out to the Jedi Order in passing the reforms. While the Senate was responsible for passing laws, Valorum wanted to ensure that he would have the support of the Jedi Order. Following a closed-door meeting between Valorum, Farfalla, and Farfalla's apprentice, Johun Othone, Farfalla agreed to make sure that the Jedi Order complied with Valorum's wishes.

Legacy
"This will be the beginning of a new era for the Republic. We will enter a new age of prosperity and peace."

- Tarsus Valorum

While the Ruusan Reformations repaired many of the declining aspects of the Republic, it did seemingly have drawbacks. Because the reforms were designed to give each member of the Senate a powerful voice, the Senate found itself faced with gridlock and greed. In the centuries that followed, this bureaucratic system became a source of contention amongst the Republic's citizens, as well as some of its leaders. It was this bureaucratic system that Palpatine, the Senator of Naboo circa 32 BBY, used as justification to convince Naboo's queen Padmé Amidala that then-Chancellor Finis Valorum, a decedent of Tarsus Valorum, needed to be removed from office, which led to Palpatine's election as Supreme Chancellor and, subsequently, his creation of the First Galactic Empire in 19 BBY.

In the centuries that followed Valorum's term as Supreme Chancellor, a number of other members of House Valorum rose to prominence in the political arena. Tullius Valorum and Laeca Valorum were seen as important politicians of their time. Eixes Valorum went on to become Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, as well as Finis Valorum who was the last Supreme Chancellor prior to the election of Palpatine and the rise of the First Galactic Empire.

Personality and traits

 * Looked 10 years younger.
 * Face many called "honest and determined."
 * "It was these traits, along with his exemplary record of public service, that had led to Valorum being appointed the first non-Jedi Chancellor in over four centuries."

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two