Darth Sidious

"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."

- Palpatine

Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, was a Force-sensitive Human male who served as the last Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. He was also the Dark Lord of the Sith, one of the inheritors of Darth Bane's Rule of Two.

In the years prior to his Imperial ascent, Palpatine was the Senator of Naboo, using politics as a means to amass power. All the while, he operated as a Sith in secret and trained an apprentice, Darth Maul. He engineered the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo, using the political crisis as a pretext to be elected Supreme Chancellor by the Galactic Senate. He spent the next several years training a new apprentice, Count Dooku, to replace the fallen Maul, and together they created the Confederacy of Independent Systems to spark a galactic war.

Palpatine was given sweeping central, emergency powers to handle the Separatist crisis, and he raised the Grand Army of the Republic to fight the Clone Wars. Palpatine and Dooku manipulated the Republic and the Separatists throughout the war, with Palpatine using the war as a means to amass more and more power over the Republic. By the end of the war, Palpatine had gained almost total control over the Republic, with the Senate having lost much of its power. With his new power, Palpatine transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, branded the Jedi as traitors, and destroyed the Jedi Order. He also turned Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, anointing Skywalker as Darth Vader.

The Empire expanded across the galaxy over the next two decades, including building a Death Star to maintain order. After those decades, however, a Rebel Alliance was founded to resist Palpatine's rule, and the Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker. Palpatine tasked Vader, Luke's father, with either destroying or turning the boy, and Vader ultimately brought Luke before Palpatine during the Battle of Endor. There, Palpatine attempted to turn Luke to the dark side, but Luke refused. As Palpatine attempted to kill Luke, Vader was redeemed and turned on his master, killing himself and Palpatine in the process. Through redemption, Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Sith, while the Rebels successfully destroyed the second Death Star and defeated the Empire.