Galactic Republic

A state that united most of the inhabited galaxy for millennia until the proclamation of the Empire. The highest governing body was the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, where representatives of worlds and sectors sat; executive power was headed by the Supreme Chancellor.

The Republic had no standing army: law and order and mediation in disputes were largely provided by the Jedi Order. By the last decades of its existence governance had weakened, and the Senate had become mired in bureaucracy, which was exploited by large trade organizations that had secured their own representation.

After the crisis on Naboo, Palpatine became Chancellor. The secession of a number of worlds into the Confederacy of Independent Systems led to the Clone Wars, during which the Senate granted the Chancellor ever broader powers. When the war ended, Palpatine announced the transformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire.