Supreme Chancellor The Supreme Chancellor , also known as the High Chancellor and rarely referred to as the chief of state , was the elected head and chairman of the Galactic Senate , the governing body of the Galactic Republic . The chancellor was elected through a majority vote by and from the senator s who represented the various worlds across the galaxy . As head of the Senate , the chancellor ' s office was located in the Senate Office Building of the Senate District on Coruscant , the capital of the Republic . Prior to the chancellorship of Sheev Palpatine , the post was limited to two four - year terms . However , fear of the Separatist Crisis enabled Palpatine to remain in office for years after his second term ended . During the Clone Wars , the chancellor gained far greater authority and influence through emergency wartime powers , which effectively transformed the post into a dictatorship . The office was ultimately abolished when Palpatine — secretly known as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious — proclaimed himself Emperor of the First Galactic Empire . Powers . The powers of the Supreme Chancellor were limited and hampered by the bureaucratic procedures of the Galactic Senate during the final years of the Galactic Republic . Nevertheless , it was in the chancellor ' s prerogative to issue executive orders to government officials for a number of reasons , including security . Under the administration of Sheev Palpatine , the last chancellor of the Republic , the post gained greater authority through the emergency powers bestowed by the Senate in response to the secessionist movement of the Confederacy of Independent Systems . As head of state , Chancellor Palpatine also served as Commander - in - Chief of the newly - formed Republic military . At the height of the Clone Wars , control of the InterGalactic Banking Clan was transferred to the Office of the Chancellor , making the chancellery more powerful than ever before . History . Background . The title of Supreme Chancellor was given to the elected leader of the Galactic Senate of the Republic . Prior to the Age of the Empire , Supreme Chancellor Chasen Piian resettled the endangered B ' ankora species in the B ' ankor Refuge sanctuary on Coruscant , the capital planet of the Galactic Republic . Piian was eventually succeeded by Kalpana , whose party would retain control of the office under the last two chancellors : Finis Valorum and Sheev Palpatine . Finis Valorum . Supreme Chancellor Valorum presided over a Senate that was perceived as highly corrupt and too bureaucratic to be an efficient government . Although he governed the Republic with good intentions , Valorum was seen as an ineffective civil servant whose reputation was tarnished by accusations of corruption . The Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY compelled Padmé Amidala , Queen of Naboo , to beseech Valorum for his support against the Trade Federation and its occupation of her homeworld . However , under the advisement of Senator Palpatine , Naboo ' s galactic representative and one of the queen ' s closest advisor s , Amidala called on the Senate to cast a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Valorum . With Valorum removed from office , Palpatine was nominated to succeed him along with Bail Antilles and Ainlee Teem of Alderaan and Malastare , respectively . Palpatine ultimately defeated his fellow nominees due to widespread support and sympathy for his homeworld . As a result , he was elected as the next and last Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic . Sheev Palpatine . Over the next decade , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine consolidated his power during two consecutive terms in office . By the end of his second term , the Separatist Crisis increasingly threatened to become a full - scale civil war , causing the Senate to amend the Galactic Constitution so that Palpatine could remain in office to prevent the secessionists from leaving the Republic . Palpatine , however , was secretly Darth Sidious , the Dark Lord of the Sith . < ref name = " Palpatine / Sidious " > < / ref > Although he claimed to love the Republic , his true motive was to supplant it with a fascist regime . By the time of the Clone Wars , the Senate at the urging of Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks granted emergency powers to the office of Supreme Chancellor , which allowed Palpatine to form the Grand Army of the Republic in response to the creation of the Separatist Droid Army . The conflict with the Separatists helped to greatly expand the chancellor ' s authority with additional wartime powers , resulting in the marginalization of the Senate as Palpatine became dictator in all but name . By 19 BBY , the chancellery effectively controlled the Senate and the courts , as well as the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Republic military . Upon learning of his true identity , the Jedi Order attempted to apprehend the Sith Lord for his crimes , but ultimately failed due to betrayal by the fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker . After declaring all Jedi an enemy of the state , Palpatine convened the Senate for his final address as chancellor : the Galactic Republic would be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire , with himself as absolute ruler of the galaxy , thereby marking the end of a thousand years of democracy . The office of Supreme Chancellor was subsequently replaced by the position of Galactic Emperor . Legacy . Despite the abolition of the Galactic Republic and the chancellorship , the title was preserved under the Alliance to Restore the Republic , a resistance movement that opposed the Empire . Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila served as chancellor of the Alliance and retained the title under the New Republic , the Alliance ' s successor . Although the Charter of the Chancellor retained the emergency powers granted to the late Palpatine by the former Galactic Senate , Chancellor Mothma disapproved of additional war powers and intended to abolish them after the Galactic Senate reconvened on Chandrila . Style of office . " Excellency " was an honorific style used by Sheev Palpatine during his chancellorship . As such , he was occasionally addressed as " Your Excellency . " Residence . During the administration of Sheev Palpatine , the Supreme Chancellor resided in a private apartment complex at 500 Republica , an exclusive residential tower located in the prestigious Federal District of Coruscant . In addition to his private apartments , the chancellor ' s office complex included a small accommodation suite where the chancellor could rest during periods of crisis that potentially required round - the - clock attention . The chancellor could enter the suite through a concealed entrance from his office ; there was also a hidden passage that allowed his aide s to discreetly access this area . Behind the scenes . The first mention of what would become known as Supreme Chancellor was in of . In the novel ' s prologue , it was stated that " the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic . " Beginning with in 1999 , the title became canon ically known as Supreme Chancellor .