Galactic Emperor

"I hear a new apprentice, you have, Emperor. Or should I call you Darth Sidious?"

- Yoda, to Darth Sidious

The Galactic Emperor, commonly referred to as Emperor, was the head of state of the Galactic Empire. The Emperor's seat of power was the Imperial Palace, formerly known as the Jedi Temple and located in the Federal District of Coruscant, the capital world of the Empire.

With the end of the Clone Wars and the fall of the Jedi Order in 19 BBY, the Galactic Republic was replaced by the Empire in accordance with the proclamation of the New Order, as outlined by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine who named himself Emperor. In secret, Palpatine was the public persona of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, whose rise to ultimate power fulfilled a thousand-year plot to establish Sith rule over the galaxy.

The Emperor's rule came to an end as a result of Sidious' death in 4 ABY, approximately two decades into the Empire's existence. While political and military officials&mdash;such as Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax&mdash;attempted to fill the vacuum of power, the Empire was ultimately forced to capitulate to the New Republic, resulting in the conclusion of both the Galactic Civil War and the Age of the Empire.

History
"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society."

- Palpatine, to the Galactic Senate

At the conclusion of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Sheev Palpatine dropped the "kindly old man" charade he had been playing for decades. A member of the Sith sect, Palpatine had masterminded the Clone Wars with the sole aim of executing the long-percolating plan of installing an empire ruled by the dark side of the Force. In the wake of the war, he declared a New Order of government that swept away the injustices and inefficiencies of the corrupt Republic. In truth, his Galactic Empire instead became a "tyrannical regime". After Palpatine's death during the Battle of Endor, the remaining Imperial Starfleet reassembled to determine the next emperor. However, no clear chain of succession was evident, since Palpatine had no known family and was always suppose to remain. While Grand Vizier Mas Amedda of the Imperial Ruling Council was Emperor in all but name and politics but was nothing more then a figurehead who held little real power within the Empire beyond Coruscant.

In contrast to Amedda, Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax grew in power and influence following the Emperor's demise. Rather than openly ruling the galaxy however, Rax sought to govern the Empire as the head of a new ruling body, the Shadow Council, while supporting an official figurehead to succeed Palpatine. Although Rax was Emperor in effect, according to the Imperial agent Windom Traducier, he rejected the title and, in keeping with his intention to rule the Empire as the power behind the throne, and created the position of Counselor to the Empire for himself.

Style of office
"Your Majesty, this way."

- A clone trooper, to Palpatine

The Galactic Emperor Palpatine could be addressed as either "Your Majesty" or "Your Highness." However, in the context of nonofficial, everyday conversations, Palpatine was usually referred to as just "the Emperor," even between military officers. At the beginning of his reign, clone troopers would often call him "Sir" and "My Lord."

Certain individuals had their own ways to address their Imperial sovereign. Being outside of the Imperial hierarchy, Darth Vader used to call the Emperor "my master," when meeting with the Emperor in person, a sign of their master–disciple relation in the dark arts of the Force. Vader would also use the pronoun "thy" instead of the more common "your," when asking what the Emperor's bidding was. Yoda, an enemy of the Empire, when encountering Palpatine in his senate rotunda chamber, sarcastically referred to Palpatine as simply "Emperor." Luke Skywalker, a member of the Rebel Alliance and fledgling Jedi Knight, when rejecting Palpatine's request for him to induct himself into the Sith as his apprentice shortly after Luke defeated Vader, referred to Palpatine as "Your Highness."

Behind the scenes
The title of Emperor was first mentioned in the novelization of A New Hope, ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster and published in 1976, but this version of the story of the film is now considered part of the continuity of Star Wars Legends and canon only to the degree that its events align with those depicted in the film. A number of additional Emperors were depicted in other now non-canon Legends material.

Non-canon appearances

 * Epic Yarns: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi
 * LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III