Jedi High Council ( New Jedi Order ) The Jedi High Council , formerly known as the Masters ' Council , was the leading body of the New Jedi Order founded by Luke Skywalker . As of 35 ABY , the Masters ' Council had formed as an informal body responsible for the leadership of the Order . However , at the conclusion of the Swarm War , Grand Master Skywalker formed an official High Council , from the loose collection of Jedi Masters , that mirrored the Council of the Jedi Order of the Galactic Republic . Both the Masters ' Council and its successor consisted of the Order ' s twelve wisest and most powerful Masters . History of the High Council . Masters ' Council . During the early years of the reformed Jedi Order , Master Luke Skywalker had refrained from creating a High Council and from basing their operations on Coruscant ; with knowledge of past corruption , Skywalker hoped he could avoid creating a body that would be the puppet of the galactic government . However during the Dark Nest Crisis a schism threatened to rip apart the fledgling Order as infighting prevented any decisions from being made and unruly Knights began to do things that did not benefit the Order ' s public standing . Forced to take control , Skywalker declared himself Grand Master at a conclave within the Ossus Academy and ordered any Jedi who could not put the Order first to resign . To assist him in his leadership position , Skywalker created the twelve member council that mirrored its predecessor from the Old Republic . Unlike the old Council however , the body was not as formal and did not take absolute control of the Order for the first few years . Convening in chambers on Ossus and within the Temple on Coruscant , the Council met with the two Joiner Knights sent by UnuThul to persuade the Masters ' Council to assist the Killik s in a border conflict with the Chiss Ascendancy . Uncovering the existence of the Dark Nest , Gorog , which was manipulating the conflict without the knowledge of UnuThul and the rest of the Colony , the Council dispatched Grand Master Skywalker , and Masters Mara Skywalker and Saba Sebatyne to destroy Gorog . Aided by Knight Leia Solo and several other Jedi , the Masters ended the conflict . Jedi High Council . Following the events of the Swarm War and the way it was instigated by rogue Knights , Grand Master Skywalker decided that a more authoritative High Council was necessary . Taking the formal Council chamber on Coruscant as the permanent meeting place of the group , the Masters ' Council was formalized into a High Council and began forming its close ties with the Office of the Chief of State . Making decisions on behalf of the Order , the number of Knights during this time flourished and began to grow to numbers comparative to those before the Great Jedi Purge . Recovering lost information and texts , the Council drew on the teachings of the old Order to better the curriculum at the academy . In 40 ABY , after the Telos Holocron was recovered , many Jedi feared that there may be attempts to steal it . Calling it to a vote , nearly half the Council suggested destroying it ; though the motion was struck down and the artifact locked away in the Temple vaults . When the Second Galactic Civil War erupted , the High Council was largely ineffective , as it failed to prevent the fall of Jacen Solo to the dark side . Catering to Grand Master Skywalker ' s wishes , the Council was constantly rendered inert as it clashed with Chief Cal Omas and each other . With Dark Lady Lumiya orchestrating events , Dark Jedi Alema Rar on the loose , and a conflicted membership , the Council was unable to prevent the death of countless Alliance personnel , citizens , and two of their own : Masters Tresina Lobi and Mara Skywalker . With the Grand Master ' s wife dead and his son under the pall of the corrupt Colonel Solo , the Council failed to take action when Galactic Alliance Guard members infiltrated the Temple itself in an attempt to arrest Knight Leia Solo and her husband Han . When Chief Omas was assassinated and replaced by Colonel Solo himself , the Alliance government constantly harried the Order by attacking the Ossus Academy which nearly saw the death of Council members Kam and Tionne Solusar . When Colonel Solo began to burn Kashyyyk , the Council finally withdrew from the Alliance and went into exile on the Sanctuary Moon of Endor . With the help of Alliance personnel under Admiral Cha Niathal ' s command and the fleets of Imperial Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon , the newly formed Coalition eventually brought an end to Solo ' s regime and took back the Alliance . Following that conflict , the Order helped install former Admiral Natasi Daala as Chief of the Alliance and Captain Jagged Fel as Head of State of the Galactic Empire . During Chief Daala ' s tenure , she ordered the arrest of Grand Master Skywalker on the charges of dereliction of duty for not preventing Colonel Solo ' s rampage . Instead of being imprisoned , Skywalker negotiated a deal with Daala ; Skywalker would go into exile , cutting off all ties with the Order until he could discover what had cause Solo ' s mania . In his stead , Council member Kenth Hamner would take up the mantle of Grand Master and lead the Order until the time that Skywalker could return . Agreeing to the terms set forth , Daala was appeased until several Knights began to be overcome with an enigmatic psychosis . Deeming them a threat to civilization , Daala ordered their arrest and began a campaign against the Jedi to recover the supposedly insane Knights . Freezing Council member Corran Horn ' s two Jedi children in carbonite , Daala continued to stand unopposed by the Council , as Grand Master Hamner encouraged patience . When Daala instigated a Mandalorian siege on the Temple which resulted in the cold - blooded murder of Jedi Kani Asari , the High Council continued to grow impatient with Hamner ' s stance of inaction . When Hamner made a secret deal with Admiral Nek Bwua ' tu to end the siege , the Bothan was attacked and fell into a coma . While waiting for him to awaken , the Knights under medical watch recovered , while a slave revolt broke out on the Outer Rim . With so much happening at once , Hamner became completely overwhelmed , and when the High Council learned of his secret agreement with Bwua ' tu which had kept them trapped in the Temple , the High Council dismissed him as Grand Master and ordered him to his chambers for confinement . Completely hysterical , Hamner attacked his guards and hid amongst the catwalks of the Operations Hangar in preparation to strike down his opposition amongst the Council . Attacking Master Saba Sebatyne , Hamner engaged in a fierce duel , eventually impaling the Barabel with his lightsaber . To late to gain the trust of the other Jedi in the hangar preparing to launch their StealthX s to aid the imperiled Master Skywalker , Hamner attempted to take out the hangar doors but was stopped by Sebatyne , who defeated the former Grand Master by blasting him off a catwalk with the Force . As she tried to stop his lightsaber strike on the hangar doors telekinetically , Sebatyne was forced to release her Force grasp holding Hamner aloft , who then plummeted to his death several meters below . Following Hamner ' s death , Sebatyne reluctantly became the Order ' s acting Grand Master . Nearly a century later , the High Council continued to preside over the Order ’ s affairs , with Grand Master Skywalker ' s descendant , Kol Skywalker , as its leader . However , with the Imperial victory during the Sith – Imperial War and the subsequent Massacre at Ossus , the Jedi Order was decimated , and the High Council scattered . Fleeing extermination , three Masters reconvened the august body within the halls of the Hidden Temple of Taivas . Made up of three Masters , T ' ra Saa , Tili Qua and K ' Kruhk , the Council was dedicated to rebuilding the Order . When an Imperial delegation of the Fel Empire discovered the Temple ' s location , the Council received them to discuss an alliance . During the same meeting the Council listened to Cade Skywalker ' s plans to assassinate the Emperor and Sith Lord Darth Krayt . After meditating on the consequences of joining with Roan Fel and wiping out the Sith leadership , the Council decided that only the former option was the best way to proceed . Arguing that killing Krayt would only cause more dangerous factions to arise , the Council was more determined to wait patiently as the Order grew strong enough to strike at the Sith . After the apparent death of Darth Krayt the Jedi Council felt it was time again to take part in the struggle against the Sith . To this end they sent Te Corso , Sayar Dun ' La , Asaak Dan , and Drok to meet with Admiral Gar Stazi and form an alliance with him . Organization and politics . Unlike the Council of the Old Order , originally Grand Master Skywalker intended it to serve as an advisory body that would assist in guiding Knights to where they needed to go . However , this structure failed when wayward Knights nearly dragged the Order and the Alliance into all out war with the Chiss Ascendancy on behalf of the Killik Nests . After some reform the High Council became the unquestioned leader of the Order , assigning missions and expecting reports afterward . Like the old Council , this body worked closely with the executive branch of the galactic regime , advising and assisting the Chief of State of the Alliance on important diplomatic matters . Membership on this august body was limited to twelve Masters at a time , with each member appointed by unanimous vote of the current members . It was not unheard of that seats would remain unfilled for an extended period of time ; following the deaths of Mara Jade Skywalker and Tresina Lobi , their seats remained vacant for years . With the death of Kenth Hamner in 44 ABY , the Council had only nine sitting members . Convening with the austere High Council Chamber in the Coruscant Temple , the Masters elected one of their own to serve as secretary during the early years after the Swarm War . Not infrequently , the High Council would request the presence of any available Master , bringing in extra chairs to suit the needs of those in attendance . The relationship between the High Council and the Alliance government was often tense , and a matter of contention within the Council . Some Masters , such as Corran Horn and Kenth Hamner , believed the Order was primarily responsible to serve the needs of the Alliance , which funded the Order during , including the actually reconstruction of the Temple following the Yuuzhan Vong War . Others , including Mara Skywalker and Kyp Durron , believed that giving preference to the Alliance ' s interest made the Jedi nothing more than mercenaries , and that the Jedi should preserve peace without favoritism , even at the expense of the Alliance . Despite their official stance , the Galactic Alliance bureaucracy came to see the Jedi as their own private diplomatic corps and police force . Both sides were convinced that they were in the right , with some arguments coming close to being decided at saber - point , and it was only Master Skywalker ' s moral authority that kept the Council from splitting violently . Known members . Those Jedi who attained the title of Master of the Order or Grand Master are listed in bold . As of 138 ABY : ( † = confirmed death ) ;