Supreme Chancellor/Legends



Supreme Chancellor, simply known as Chancellor, was the title of the head of state and government leader of the Galactic Republic.

The Chancellor was elected by and from the members of the Galactic Senate and served two four-year terms. The Chancellor could be removed from office at any time by the Senate with a Vote of No Confidence.

The office was largely powerless in the last years of the Republic, especially after the Ruusan Reformations, serving mainly as an officiator of parliamentary procedure. It was still a very prestigious position, however, and the Chancellor had a grand office and was addressed as "Your Excellency". The symbol of the office of the Supreme Chancellor was a fanned spear. The spear was brought out for only the most ceremonious occasions, however a large relief image was sculpted prominently on the Chancellor's podium in the center of the Grand Convocation Chamber.

Chancellor Finis Valorum was seen during the Blockade of Naboo and presided over the dispute between Naboo and the Trade Federation. He was ousted when Queen Amidala, on Senator Palpatine's urging, moved for a vote of no confidence.

The office became much more powerful during the term of Chancellor Palpatine, who was able to convince the Senate to grant him a range of "emergency" powers due to the Clone Wars. Eventually, Palpatine became a dictator and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Galaxy, thus abolishing the office of Chancellor and ending the Republic. This brought about the establishment of the Galactic Empire. The title was not revived by the New Republic.

Elections for Chancellor

 * Galactic Republic Chancery election, 4,000 BBY
 * Galactic Republic Chancery election, 44 BBY
 * Galactic Republic Chancery election, 40 BBY
 * Galactic Republic Chancery election, 36 BBY
 * Galactic Republic Chancery election, 32 BBY
 * Galactic Republic Chancery election, 28 BBY

List of known Supreme Chancellors

 * Fillorean (c. 15,500 BBY)
 * Contispex (c. 12,000 BBY)
 * Blotus the Hutt (c. 9,000 BBY)
 * Sidrona Diath (4,000–3,997 BBY)
 * Unknown Alien (3,997 BBY&mdash;?)
 * Tarsus Valorum (c. 1,000 BBY)
 * Anwis Eddicus (?)
 * Vaila Pecivas (?)
 * Eixes Valorum (c. 100 BBY)
 * Signet Mezzileen (?)
 * Kalpana (?–40 BBY)
 * Finis Valorum (40–32 BBY)
 * Palpatine (32–19 BBY)

Behind the Scenes
The Chancellorship may not be the original name for the Republic's leader, the leader of the Republic had previously been styled President of the Senate in previous works, though this may also have simply been one of the Chancellor's many titles. There is further confusion in that The Essential Chronology and The New Essential Chronology use both titles to describe the Republic's leader. It is also possible that the offices of President and Chancellor existed independently of each other at first, but were at some point merged (possibly as part of the Ruusan Reformation).