Dissolution of the Imperial Senate

"The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away."

- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to the Joint Chiefs

The dissolution of the Imperial Senate was the suspension of the legislative body of the Galactic Empire, enacted by the decree of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine nineteen years after the Empire's founding.

Background
"In order to ensure our security and continued stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the First Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society!"

- Darth Sidious, in his public guise as Emperor Palpatine

As the Clone Wars came to an end, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Republic ordered a special session of Congress and proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor, turning the old Republic into a New Order in his image. The motion was eagerly supported by a supermajority of the Galactic Senate, aided by Palpatine's important popularity following his role in the Clone Wars. In the wake of the regime change, the Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate which over time started growing weaker as the planetary governors assumed more responsibility over their territories. In addition, the minority of Senators who had opposed Palpatine's declaration of the New Order, such as Alderaan Senator Bail Organa and Chandrila Senator Mon Mothma, grew more and more vocal, becoming a major concern for the Emperor.

However, the Emperor preserved the Senate in order to make the Empire's member worlds believe that they still had a part to play in the government. Secretly, the Emperor planned to disband the Senate since the formation of the Empire in the proclamation of the New Order, but needed its body to preserve order until the planet-killing Death Star battle station was completed.

Dissolution
"The Emperor has disbanded the Senate. You are no longer a senator. What defense will you use now, I wonder?"

- Darth Vader, to Leia Organa

After the Imperial senator Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, was found out to work with the enemy Rebel Alliance and arrested above Tatooine, the Emperor finally issued the dissolution order. While being detained aboard the Star Destroyer Devastator, Organa invoked her status as an Imperial senator in hopes she would be released. However, the Emperor's enforcer Darth Vader informed her that the Senate was being disbanded as they spoke. Aboard the Death Star, the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military were informed of the situation by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.

Aftermath
"Senat&mdash;Princess, rather. There is no more Senate, is there? Only the Alliance. Mon Mothma is especially at sea. She no longer has an official title, only a role."

- Alliance General Jan Dodonna, to Princess Leia Organa

With the last remnant of the Galactic Republic out of the way, the Imperial governors now had full control over their territories. Along with the Senate, many local governing institutions were dissolved as well, leaving many qualified people unemployed. Meanwhile, the Imperial Security Bureau began the process of arresting all members of the Senate, including some who had served in the past, and taking them to the Arrth-Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant. The former delegates were to remain imprisoned there until the Bureau could assess the level of participation each had had with the Rebels. The Imperial authorities, however, wanted to reach out to possible sympathizers, hoping to convince them to join the "right" side. The Rebel agent Eneb Ray and other allied spies did attempt to rescue a group of senators scheduled to be executed, but fell into a trap set by the Empire. Ultimately, the mission resulted in the death of all the senators and the Rebel spies, except for Ray. Some of the most prominent Rebel senators, however, managed to stay away from the Empire's grasp. Leia Organa was rescued from the Death Star's jail, and the battle station ended up being destroyed by the Rebels. Mon Mothma of Chandrila, a long-time insurgent and one of the Rebel Alliance's secret founders, also managed to escape the purge that followed the Senate's dissolution. Although the assembly had long been an empty husk, Mothma felt particularly disoriented because she no longer had an official title. Similarly, Leia Organa had always hoped the Senate would be there at the end to help rebuild the galaxy once the Emperor was gone.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars: A New Hope (paperback novel)
 * A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
 * "Fully Operational"&mdash;From a Certain Point of View
 * "Eclipse"&mdash;From a Certain Point of View
 * Battlefront II: Inferno Squad
 * Darth Vader 1: Vader
 * Star Wars Annual 1
 * Star Wars: Uprising
 * Aftermath: Life Debt
 * Aftermath: Empire's End
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel