Galactic Senate

Galactic Republic

Emblem of the Galactic Republic
Universe	Star Wars
Type	Federal republic
Founded	25,053 BBY
Defunct	19 BBY (establishment of the Galactic Empire) 0 BBY, Galactic/Imperial Senate dissolved
Fate	Reorganized into the Galactic Empire Reformed as the New Republic following the Empire's defeat in 4 ABY
Location	Coruscant (capital)
Leader	Supreme Chancellor
Key people	Minister of Defense, Vice Chair, Senior Administrative Aide, Galactic Senate, Senatorial Council, General Ministry, Supreme court, regional courts
Currency	Galactic Standard Credit (Republic Dataries)
Founding document	Galactic Constitution
Official language	Basic

19 BBY (establishment of the Galactic Empire)

The Galactic Republic, often referred to as simply the Republic, is the name of the interplanetary State used in the fictional Star Wars universe prior to the establishment of the Galactic Empire. The form of this government, ruled by the Senate, was introduced in the prequel trilogy. By the time of the original trilogy, it is referred to as the Old Republic. It was a democratic, though eventually ineffectual, constitutional republic tied up in layers of bureaucracy.

The Republic, as it was commonly known, was a republican government that was able to sustain itself for over twenty-five thousand years.

The Republic itself was formed in 25,053 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) when the first "Galactic Constitution" was signed on Coruscant, after the Corellian Hyperdrive connected many worlds in the Galactic Core. Whether this means that Coruscant was the original homeworld of humans or simply the most powerful world at the time is still up for debate, and there has been little said about the event other than that it occurred. The Republic was made up of several hundred thousand worlds.

The Republic began as a mutual protection and economic alliance among a number of planets in the Galactic Core. Each member world chose a Senator to represent them in the Republic Senate, a central Legislative body. Senators were ambassadors of their homeworld, and member worlds were able to maintain their government and society in accordance with local beliefs, customs, and traditions. There were a wide variety of different local governments along the political spectrum: from monarchies to republics to hive-like communes. In some systems, the senator was elected to that post; in others the world government appointed the senator. Naboo's monarch appointed their senator, while the Alderaan Council of Elders elected their senator out of their own ranks, usually the heir to the Royal House of Organa and their bloodline, as the heir was also the leader of the council.