Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/April 27, 2009

Silya Shessaun was a female Human from Thesme who represented the Thesme Sector in the Galactic Senate during the waning years of the Galactic Republic. Coming from a working-class family, she was one of the few non-upper class citizens of Thesme able to make a name for herself in the political arena. Due to her origins, Shessaun consistently championed the causes of the poor and underprivileged. During her time as a Galactic Senator, she often confided in her close friend, fellow Senator Padmé Amidala, of the Chommell Sector. Shessaun received only minor criticism in her tenure, since she seemed to focus on her sector as a whole more than her native Thesme.

Shessaun was forced back to her homeworld when the Separatist Movement threatened it circa 22 BBY. During the Clone Wars, Amidala asked her to join the Delegation of 2,000, but the Thesme native believed that such actions were little better than those of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. When the New Order rose in 19 BBY, and Amidala apparently died during the "Jedi uprising," Shessaun launched an inquest into her friend's death, but the now-Emperor Palpatine barred it. She was later asked to step down as senator due to her lack of enthusiasm for the Galactic Empire, and lived out her early retirement on Alderaan. Shessaun would later return to her native Thesme, where she peacefully died in 4 ABY.