Separatist Parliament The Separatist Parliament , also known as the Separatist Senate or the Separatist Congress , was the civilian legislature that governed the Confederacy of Independent Systems , representing thousands of its member worlds during the Clone Wars . When the charismatic Count Dooku founded the Confederacy in 24 BBY , the swaths of sectors and star systems seceding from the Galactic Republic formed their own congressional assembly to oversee the Separatist state . A number of the appointed delegates , having served as members of the Republic Senate prior to their secession , continued to represent their constituents in the Confederacy . Operating by a bill of rights known as the Bylaws of Independent Systems , the Parliament was headed by the Confederate Head of State , Dooku , as well as by Separatist Congress Leader Bec Lawise . It became headquartered on the Separatist capital of Raxus Secundus , where sessions were held in the Separatist Senate Building . Although the representative voices of the Parliament gained a role in state matters , various elements of the Separatist hierarchy often rendered them ineffective . The corporate interests on the Separatist Council also made governmental decisions , and Dooku himself — who was secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Tyranus — manipulated situations to ensure that pan - galactic war continued for the purposes of the Sith . At times maneuvers on the part of other war - profiteering parties negated legislation that the Parliament had enacted ; some came to see the assembly ' s members as Dooku ' s pawns . Furthermore , the senators of the Parliament as well as the citizens of the Confederacy were repeatedly shielded from front - line reports of brutal campaigns waged by such commanders of the Separatist Droid Army as General Grievous . Ultimately , the Confederacy was regarded more as a movement instead of a centralized government , in spite of the Parliament ' s involvement in public affairs . A wide range of views comprised the Parliament , leading to a division of positions about maintaining the war effort against the Republic . In 21 BBY , after the Clone Wars had been raging for over a year , Senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon , in collaboration with Republic Senator Padmé Amidala , introduced a bill to open peace negotiations with the Republic . Her bill passed in session by a majority , and the Parliament ' s motion for peace was extended to the Republic Senate . Yet Dooku conspired with a group of war profiteers to ensure that the Republic rejected the offer , culminating with his orchestration of Bonteri ' s murder and the withdrawal of the proposal . A delegation later represented the Parliament at an unprecedented peace conference with Republic congresspeople on Mandalore , but the talks similarly failed . The Confederacy was dissolved in 19 BBY with the death of Dooku and the execution of the Separatist Council , ending the Clone Wars . Description . Organization . The Separatist Parliament , alternatively becoming known as the Separatist Senate or the Separatist Congress , was a ruling body established to oversee affairs of the Confederacy of Independent Systems . Comprising delegates speaking for thousands of the Confederacy ' s member worlds , the Parliament was presided over by a Separatist Congress Leader , who was tasked with being the body ' s speaker . The Confederate Head of State , serving as the leader of the Senate , was also allowed to officiate at sessions . In addition to member worlds , corporations such as the Corporate Alliance were granted representation , becoming a part of the legislature ' s decision - making . While in session , individual congresspeople could propose legislation , which required a majority vote to be enacted into law . A bill of rights , the Bylaws of Independent Systems , dictated operational procedures for the Parliament ; for example , a voice vote was to be taken for matters such as opening peace negotiations with the Galactic Republic . The Parliament was viewed primarily as a civilian political branch of the Confederacy ' s government , more so than another Confederate ruling body , the Separatist Council . Comprising solely corporate leaders who funded the Separatist war machine , the Council also made governmental decisions for the Confederacy , in addition to managing the war effort and overseeing the distribution of assets to member worlds . The Separatist hierarchy . Controversy surrounded the efficacy of the Separatist Parliament during the time of the Clone Wars , when the Confederacy was engulfed in full - scale war with the Galactic Republic . As a separatist government , the Confederacy consisted of sectors and star systems seceding from the Republic as well as megacorporations and trade cartels such as the Corporate Alliance , Trade Federation , InterGalactic Banking Clan , and Commerce Guild , among others . These conglomerates were represented on the Separatist Council , which existed alongside the civilian - based Parliament . With the wide reach of philosophies , some political and others corporate - driven , the Separatists fell into more of a hierarchy than a formal , centralized government . Such was the framework of the Confederacy that at times the Parliament ' s decrees were ignored , manipulated , or made ineffectual . Count Dooku himself , Head of State of the Confederacy , had a hand in invalidating Parliament legislation as part of schemes that the Order of the Sith Lords concocted . Senator Lux Bonteri believed that Dooku would betray the members of the Parliament if his machinations warranted such expedience . Separatist delegates who were affiliated with companies like the Corporate Alliance garnered criticism for perpetuating corporate voices in political affairs , as was the case in the Republic Senate . Yet those same galactic enterprises were the cornerstone of the Confederacy , as their security forces constituted the Confederacy military , particularly the Separatist Droid Army . Furthermore , Parliament members as well as Separatist citizens were constantly kept in the dark about the exploits and onslaughts of ruthless military commanders such as General Grievous . This conduct resulted in an incomplete view of the Separatists ' presence in the galactic war theater , creating further problems for the Parliament . Some individuals on the side of the Republic saw the Separatist senators as pawns of Dooku , while the Parliament itself was widely considered abortive due to the formation of the Separatist hierarchy . History . Formation . The Confederacy of Independent Systems was founded in the year 24 BBY , when the charismatic Count Dooku , a former Jedi Master , delivered fiery rhetoric that criticized the Republic Senate of corruption , with the Jedi Order guilty for supporting such a regime that was beyond saving . The Raxus Address , as his speech was dubbed , established the Confederacy as a separatist state from the Republic . Thousands of sectors and star systems began issuing Articles of Secession to the Republic , flocking to the Confederacy alongside megacorporations including the Trade Federation , InterGalactic Banking Clan , Corporate Alliance , Techno Union , and others seeking Dooku ' s promise of free trade . In reality , the Confederacy was created to secretly serve the Grand Plan of the Order of the Sith Lords , of which Dooku was a member under the alter ego of Darth Tyranus . While Tyranus led the Confederacy into war with the Republic , the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious — in his guise as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic — would destabilize the Republic so that the Sith could eventually claim absolute power over the galaxy . The Confederacy was thus a sham , the result of Sith plotting against the Republic . Over six thousand worlds joined the Confederacy during the period of tensions termed the Separatist Crisis , which lasted from 24 BBY to 22 BBY . The InterGalactic Banking Clan , Trade Federation , and their fellow Separatist - loyal companies officially signed on to the cause in 22 BBY , pledging their financial support as well as their standing security forces to the Confederate military . When the First Battle of Geonosis erupted that year , the corporations ' various battle droid security forces , eventually organized as the Separatist Droid Army , were deployed against the newly - created Grand Army of the Republic . Pan - galactic conflict broke out following the Battle of Geonosis in what would become known as the Clone Wars . While the Separatist Council was formed from the corporate leaders overseeing the war effort , another ruling body was established from the civilian populace . The Separatist Parliament , as it came to be known , comprised representatives from thousands of Separatist member worlds , comparative to the makeup of the Republic Senate . Indeed , a number of the senators who were appointed to the Parliament were former members of the Republic Senate , such as Mina Bonteri , who continued to represent her homeworld of Onderon in the Confederacy . Senator Bec Lawise became the Separatist Congress Leader , presiding over Parliament sessions alongside Confederate Head of State Dooku . The assembly was headquartered on the Separatist capital world of Raxus Secundus , which was blockaded by a sizable fleet from the Confederate Navy . The Separatist Senate Building was installed at the center of a large city on Raxus Secundus with an upper viewing gallery for observers . The Parliament faced many challenges during the Clone Wars , including justifying the very existence of the Confederacy . In spite of a number of attempts to negotiate with the Separatists , the Republic Senate refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Separatist state , going so far as to pass a law prohibiting Republic senators from engaging in communication with Separatist officials . The Confederacy ' s appointed Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies , General Grievous , committed many exploits on the front lines , but the politicians and citizens of the Confederacy were kept unaware of his crimes as well as other atrocities being performed in their name against the Republic . Dooku and Darth Sidious were at the center of perpetuating conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy so as to further the Sith Grand Plan to rule the galaxy . A failed peace . As the Separatist Droid Army gained ground on battlefronts across the galaxy , some Parliament senators campaigned to escalate the war effort against the Republic . Yet the majority of delegates had difficulty deciding if they should cast their support to further expansion of their armed forces . Similar conditions in the Republic Senate came to a head in 21 BBY , the second year of the war , and led Republic Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo to journey to Raxus Secundus in violation of the Republic ' s non - contact statute . A vocal advocate for diplomacy amidst the increasing cacophony of the Republic Senate , Amidala was concerned about a rising bill in her own Senate that would deregulate the galactic bank s , opening new lines of credit to expand the Republic Military and thus increase the fighting . She traveled to Raxus Secundus with Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano to seek out a meeting with Mina Bonteri of Onderon , who had mentored her in politics during her early career , in the hopes of ending the war via diplomatic negotiations . In talks with her former colleague , Amidala convinced Bonteri that if the Separatist Parliament extended an olive branch of peace , there might be enough of a sympathetic response in the Republic Senate to begin formal intergovernmental dialogue . Bonteri agreed and promised to tender a motion for peace to the Parliament . Bonteri drafted her bill , which would immediately sanction an offer for peace negotiations to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Republic , and introduced it at a following Parliament session . She prefaced her proposal , to cries of support and rejection from all sides of the Separatist Senate Building , by decrying the futility of the war ' s casualties and calling for a peaceful coexistence between Confederate and Republic worlds . Once she had finished , numerous senators stood up to applaud her words , though other delegates did not agree . Among the dissenters was Senator Voe Atell , an affiliate of the Corporate Alliance , who asserted that the commerce guild would never allow the passage of such a proposal . Senator Kerch Kushi disputed her claims , citing the democratic system of the Parliament as well as its lack of corporate governance . Amidst the widespread debate that broke out after Kushi ' s statements , Count Dooku called for order so that Bonteri ' s bill could be brought to a vote . As per the Bylaws of Independent Systems , Dooku held a voice vote , with Senators Bonteri , Kushi , By Bluss , and Amita Fonti among the supporters . Voting nay were Atell , Punn Rimbaud , and a number of others , but they were ultimately outvoted . Following the enactment of Bonteri ' s bill , Amidala returned with Tano to the Republic capital of Coruscant . Palpatine was skeptical of the Separatists ' offer for peace given their past refusals for negotiation , but Amidala confidentially assured him of its sincerity because of its origination with Bonteri , allowing the vote to be brought to the Senate floor . No party was less alarmed by the Parliament ' s offer than the coalition pushing for Republic banking deregulation , consisting of Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod , InterGalactic Banking Clan lobbyist Nix Card , and Senator Gume Saam , the latter of whom was receiving payoffs from the Techno Union . All three profited from the war through their corporate affiliations and had already arranged — through their secret ties to Dooku — for an attack on Coruscant to panic the Senate into passing the deregulation legislation . On Dooku ' s orders , without Parliament authorization , Grievous had a team of Infiltration / Demolition droid s sabotage the Coruscant power network . The assault coincided with the Republic Senate ' s vote on the bank reform bill , which had its intended effect . Reported as an act of Separatist terrorism , the bombing of the power generator portrayed the Parliament ' s offer for peace as insincere and , much to Amidala ' s dismay , prompted the Senate to overwhelmingly vote in favor of banking deregulation . The Senate later rejected the Parliament ' s motion in light of the attack on Coruscant . With negotiations with the Republic thwarted , Dooku swiftly engineered a secret attack on Confederate territory in which Sith assassins murdered Bonteri , then publicly alleged that she had been killed in a Republic assault that had targeted the people of the Confederacy . Rife with fear of attack , the Parliament withdrew Bonteri ' s peace proposal , with Dooku relaying that decision in a direct transmission to the Republic Senate . Although Republic spies uncovered evidence of Bonteri ' s assassination , many Parliament members did not believe that their Head of State had executed their highly esteemed colleague or that he was even capable of such wrongdoing . In any case , Dooku ' s actions ensured the collapse of Confederate – Republic diplomatic negotiations . In the aftermath of the Republic Senate ' s deregulation of the banks , the Separatists took out a loan from the InterGalactic Banking Clan to finance the manufacture of three million additional battle droids for the Separatist Droid Army , even with an interest rate hike from ten to twenty - five percent . The Republic Senate soon responded by approving an order for five million new clone troopers for its Grand Army , guaranteeing that the Clone Wars would continue across the galaxy . Mina Bonteri ' s Parliament seat for Onderon was filled by her son , Lux Bonteri . Conference on Mandalore . The Parliament later agreed to send a delegation of senators to meet with Republic representatives in the first - ever peace conference between the two states . The neutral world of Mandalore was chosen as a meeting ground , with Duchess Satine Kryze of the New Mandalorians hosting the gathering . Senators Voe Atell and Amita Fonti and Separatist Congress Leader Bec Lawise consented to represent the Parliament , meeting in the royal palace of the capital city of Sundari with Republic Senators Padmé Amidala , Bail Prestor Organa of Alderaan , and Mon Mothma of Chandrila , all of whom hoped for a peaceful end to the fighting . In accordance with Mandalorian law , both delegations were to remain unarmed , though the Parliament senators ' BX - series droid commandos were equipped with blasters as security droids . As soon as Amidala , the leader of the Republic representatives , opened the conference , the Separatist delegation ' s first order of business was to address an age - old issue for the Confederacy : the legitimacy of the Separatist state . Speaking for her fellow delegates , Atell demanded that the Republic confer political recognition on the Confederacy , an act that Amidala and her colleagues hesitated to perform . The proceedings were thereafter interrupted by Lux Bonteri , who had recently resigned from the Parliament and renounced his Separatist affiliations . The Parliament senators were nettled by Bonteri ' s uninvited presence , particularly when he took to the podium and publicly accused Dooku of complicity in his mother ' s homicide . Lawise ordered his security droids to arrest Bonteri and remove him from the royal palace . Although Kryze objected to the droids ' handing of Bonteri , Atell cited the matter as an internal affair , blocking outside interference . Lawise apologized on the Separatists ' behalf for the interruption and allowed the discussions to continue , though they ultimately failed to bear fruit . The deliberations broke down due to shadowy interests on both sides , with the Senate and Parliament delegations unable to negotiate an end the war . Further adding to the tensions was the discovery that Bonteri had escaped from custody aboard the Separatists ' C - 9979 landing craft at the Sundari docks with the aid of an old friend , Ahsoka Tano , who was serving as Amidala ' s bodyguard . Having pursued Tano and Bonteri to the Republic transports , the Parliament ' s squad of security droids engaged in a firefight with the Republic ' s Senate Guards , though they were unable to prevent Bonteri from escaping off - world with Tano . In 19 . 1 BBY , the final month of the war , the Confederate government recognized a new head of the InterGalactic Banking Clan : Rush Clovis . A Separatist delegation , headed by Bec Lawise , was allowed to attend the transfer of power at the Banking Clan ' s headquarters on the planet Scipio . The proceedings saw direct interference from Dooku , who — having aided Clovis ' s rise to power — engineered a plot to usurp control of the banks . On behalf of the Confederacy , Dooku refused to pay the interest on their loans from the Banking Clan , manipulating Clovis into instead raising the Republic ' s interest rates . Dooku then brought a Confederate Navy flotilla to Scipio , decimating the Republic ' s on - world security garrison in order to implicate Clovis in a partisan alliance with the Separatists . After Dooku arrested Padmé Amidala , the leader of the Republic delegation , Lawise voiced opposition to his scheme , as he believed that the Parliament would not approve so brazen a move . Dooku responded by using the Force to telekinetically maneuver Amidala into gunning down Lawise . He then withdrew his naval armada from Scipio , leaving the Banking Clan in shambles and eventually leading to the Republic Senate transferring full control of the banks to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine . War ' s end and legacy . After three years of conflict , the Confederacy was defeated in 19 BBY with the death of Count Dooku at the Battle of Coruscant and the following execution of the Separatist Council on Mustafar . The Sith Grand Plan finally came to fruition : Palpatine reestablished the Republic as the first Galactic Empire , with himself as Galactic Emperor for life . Without its corporate leadership , the Confederacy surrendered , and a mass signal was transmitted from Mustafar to deactivate the Separatist Droid Army . Nevertheless , holdout factions of unrepentant Separatists took several years for the new Empire to conquer and subjugate . The Parliament was remembered for its ultimate ineffectiveness in the Separatist hierarchy . When Senator Mon Mothma of the Imperial Senate became the Chief of State of the Alliance to Restore the Republic after its founding in 2 BBY , she looked to the representative Parliament while organizing the Rebel Alliance . Given the uselessness of the Parliament , Mothma believed that treating the Rebellion as a Republic - in - exile would inevitably remind the galaxy of the Confederacy . Being a separate government , a Republic - in - exile would also give credence to the Empire as a legitimate state instead of a corruption of the Republic , as was intended . In the resulting Galactic Civil War , the Rebel Alliance succeeded in overthrowing the Empire , eventually installing the New Republic as the dominant galactic government . Notable members . Count Dooku . The Head of State of the Confederacy , Dooku served as the leader of both the Separatist Parliament and the Separatist Council during the Clone Wars . Initially a Jedi Master , Dooku resigned from the Jedi Order in 32 BBY , disputing its place in a corrupt Republic . While reclaiming his title of Count of Serenno , he secretly became the apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious , taking up the mantle of the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus . His duties in the Parliament included officiating over sessions and overseeing votes , usually doing so via hologram , as he was frequently prosecuting the war from a distance . Although he maintained the public persona of a charismatic and reasonable politician to many in the Parliament , Dooku did not hesitate to override the assembly ' s decisions without its knowledge , including the proposal for peace that Mina Bonteri introduced . He sought to keep the war going so that it could fulfill the Sith Grand Plan , to ultimately bleed the Republic dry to the point that the Sith could claim it . He thus manipulated the Confederacy and its Parliament on multiple occasions , even engineering the demise of members of the Parliament — such as Mina Bonteri and Bec Lawise — as he saw fit , while also enlisting ruthless enforcers such as General Grievous and the Dark Acolyte s to carry out his agenda of deception and manipulation . Mina Bonteri . A prominent senator of the Separatist Parliament , Mina Bonteri represented her homeworld of Onderon . Initially a member of the Republic Senate , Bonteri came to disagree with the Republic ' s direction and withdrew alongside her homeworld , which Onderonian King Sanjay Rash allied to the Confederacy at the outset of the war . In leaving the Senate , she forsook a number of connections and close friendships . Yet unlike other more aggressive Separatists , Bonteri had no inclination to pursue conquest or warfare , instead believing in ending the war through diplomacy . She admired Count Dooku as a political leader , though she , like many other Separatist citizens , remained unaware of the atrocities being committed in their name on the battlefield . A respected example of Separatist idealism , she championed coexistence between Republic and Confederate worlds as a solution to the fighting . When an old friend , Padmé Amidala , came to Raxus Secundus to pursue a peaceful resolution to the war , Bonteri collaborated with her former colleague to open negotiations with the Republic , proposing a bill to the Parliament calling for an immediate end to the conflict . While the majority of her associates voted with her , Dooku had her murdered to derail the peace effort and further his own wartime agenda . Her position in the Parliament was filled by her son , Lux Bonteri , who uncovered Dooku ' s complicity in her death and sought to avenge her . Bec Lawise . Senator Bec Lawise served as the Separatist Congress Leader , presiding over Parliament sessions alongside the Head of State . As speaker of the Parliament , he was a firm supporter of Count Dooku , refusing without a second thought to believe allegations of Dooku ' s crimes . Lawise was one of several congresspeople who petitioned the Republic to acknowledge the Confederacy as a legitimate government , a move that the Republic delegation hesitated to make at the peace conference on Mandalore . He was irked by Lux Bonteri ' s uninvited appearance at the negotiations and was quick to label him as a Separatist traitor for his charges levied against Dooku . He immediately responded to Bonteri ' s words with force , not hesitating to have the young man taken into custody despite the clear prospect of Dooku having him executed for his accusations . Nevertheless , Lawise ultimately proved expendable to Dooku , who engineered Lawise ' s death when the senator raised objections to his arrest of Padmé Amidala on Scipio , as part of a plot to wrest control of the banks from the InterGalactic Banking Clan . Voe Atell . A senator affiliated with the Corporate Alliance , Voe Atell spoke for the commerce guild at times in the Separatist Parliament . During the debate over Mina Bonteri ' s bill to initiate diplomatic negotiations with the Republic , Atell took a stand against her pro - peace colleague , going so far as to swear that the Corporate Alliance would never permit a Parliament decision to end the war . Some of her fellow delegates took umbrage at her remarks , with Kerch Kushi likening her Corporate Alliance ties to the seats that such megacorporations held in the Republic Senate . Atell voted against the bill for peace , though she ended up being in the outvoted minority . Although opposed to negotiations with the Republic on that occasion , she accepted afterward a place on the three - member Parliament delegation at the Mandalore peace conference , where she pushed for recognition of the Confederacy ' s legitimacy . Padmé Amidala was reluctant to meet her demands , and the discussions later collapsed . Lux Bonteri . The son of Mina Bonteri , Lux Bonteri continued his mother ' s representation of Onderon in the Separatist Parliament following her death . Having grown up as a Separatist , Bonteri was idealistic from a young age , sharing some of his mother ' s views about the futility of war . He was eventually orphaned by the Clone Wars : his father , a military officer , was killed in the line of duty , while his mother died for her ideals , as Count Dooku arranged . Although Bonteri saw himself as a patriot and loyal Separatist , he renounced his Confederate ties and resigned his Parliament seat after discovering Dooku ' s actions . He cautioned other senators about Dooku , believing that he would one day betray them just like he had with Mina . Bonteri resolved to bring Dooku to justice , withdrawing to support the Mandalorian Death Watch , a splinter group of terrorists , in its hunt for Dooku . As part of his plan , he interrupted the peace conference on Mandalore to publicly accuse Dooku of murder , so that he would be brought to the count and be able to pinpoint his exact location for the Death Watch . Bonteri later joined a resistance movement on Onderon and helped to liberate his homeworld from Separatist control , following which he was reappointed as the senator of Onderon given his brief tenure in the Parliament . He decided that Onderon ' s best course of action would be realignment with the Republic , intending to follow in his mother ' s footsteps by joining the Republic Senate . Behind the scenes . The Separatist Parliament was created for the as the civilian government of the Confederacy of Independent Systems . First alluded to at Celebration V in August 2010 by Series Supervising Director Dave Filoni , it was mentioned in the episode " Supply Lines " in September 2010 , with the episode ' s accompanying guide on StarWars . com identifying it as a civilian - based section of the Confederate government . The Parliament was introduced in " Heroes on Both Sides , " which was released on November 19 , 2010 . In addition to the prominently featured Mina Bonteri , several other senators were identified in the episode ' s online guide . The Parliament also played a role in the episode " A Friend in Need , " in which a delegation from the Parliament was portrayed taking part in an unprecedented peace conference with the Republic . The episode aired on January 13 , 2012 . The Parliament represented a retcon to " Star Wars " canon regarding the government of the Confederacy , which had — up until the Parliament ' s introduction — only consisted of the corporate - based Separatist Council . The Parliament ' s exact relationship with the Council has yet to be clarified , though the television series had previously referred to the existence of the Council in the . According to Filoni , Series Producer George Lucas saw that the Expanded Universe mistakenly portrayed the Separatist Council as the government of the Confederacy , as well as the Trade Federation ' s allegedly clear Separatist ties . Lucas dictated that megacorporations like the Trade Federation , Commerce Guild , and others on the Separatist Council were more of a neutral party during the events of " The Clone Wars " series , with the Parliament being the Confederacy ' s true civilian government . The ineffectiveness of the Parliament , which was implied through Count Dooku ' s machinations in " Heroes on Both Sides , " was acknowledged in the April 2012 " The Essential Guide to Warfare " , which also tied it into the formation of the Rebel Alliance . One of the book ' s co - authors , Jason Fry , commented that he made a point to compare the Rebels to the earlier Separatists , incorporating the Parliament when the opportunity presented itself . According to Series Writer Brent Friedman , the Parliament would have been featured in a future story arc of the television series , though those episodes were never produced after the series was removed from being broadcast in March 2013 .