Vidar Kim Vidar Kim was a male Human politician from the planet Naboo . Kim served as the Senator of the Chommell sector in the Senate of the Galactic Republic in the 50s BBY , and was the tutor of a young noble boy named Palpatine . Unknown to Kim , Palpatine had been recruited as an apprentice by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis . Senator Kim ' s eldest son , Ronhar , had been identified as Force - sensitive and turned over to the Jedi Order in his infancy , a choice Senator Kim would later regret before his death . Kim ' s politics were conservative and isolationist , and he clashed with politicians like Bon Tapalo and Ars Veruna who wished to open Naboo to the wider galaxy . Tragedy struck Kim in 54 BBY when his wife and two children perished in a starship accident over Kaadara . Convinced that his political opponents had been behind his family ' s deaths to force his retirement , Kim ' s behaviour became increasingly erratic , attempting to lure Ronhar away from the Jedi Order to rejoin him on Naboo . Identifying the Senator as a liability to the Sith Grand Plan , at the behest of Darth Plagueis Palpatine arranged Kim ' s assassination in 52 BBY . Biography . Early life . Born on the planet Naboo , the capital world of the Chommell sector , Vidar Kim first tasted politics during his required years of service in the Legislative Youth Program . Becoming the administrative aide of a young female Senator , Kim slowly began his ascent through Naboo politics . At some point , Kim met his wife , and was happily married to her for years , fathering three sons , including a Force - sensitive boy named Ronhar Kim . When the Jedi Order approached the family , Kim and his wife parted ways with little Ronhar , sending him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to be initiated in the ways of the Jedi . As a conservative Naboo , Kim garnered the support of House Palpatine ' s patriarch , Cosinga Palpatine , as both men shared a pro - isolationist stance . Discouraging the bedding of corporate entities who wanted to exploit the rich plasma reserves in the planet ' s core , Kim did all he could to persuade the monarchy and the Senator to avoid selling their rare resource offworld . As Kim finished his time at the Apprentice Legislator program , he met the eldest son of his supporter , a young boy by the name of Palpatine ; Kim took the rebellious youth under his wing and tutored him during his time in the Youth Program . Despite the fact that Palpatine — a strong supporter of Naboo ' s opening to the galaxy — and his mentor had vastly different political viewpoints , they got along well and were close friends . Vidar once told Palpatine that he was like the younger brother that he had never had . Senator of the Chommell sector . Kim ' s conservative politics and influential backers eventually saw him succeed the outgoing Senator as the Chommell sector ' s representative in the Galactic Republic ' s Senate . Kim ' s isolationist stance saw him clash with King Bon Tapalo over the sale of Naboo ' s plasma reserves : Tapalo had arranged a deal with the Trade Federation to export Naboo ' s plasma through it , and Kim saw the deal as unjust and exploitative , pointing out that the Federation sold the plasma on for up to twenty times the price it paid for it . Kim came to feel that he was only kept on as Senator to placate the noble houses of Naboo that had opposed Tapalo in the election of 65 BBY . By 54 BBY , Senator Kim was joined in the Senate by his pupil , now ambassador , Palpatine and Kinman Doriana . Unknown to Kim , Palpatine had been taken as the apprentice of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis . The Muun Sith Lord had ordered Palpatine to deepen his connection to Kim upon hearing that the Senator had sired a Forceful son . Plagueis thought to turn the boy to the dark side of the Force at a future date if it would help further the Grand Plan . Both Kim and Palpatine knew that the younger man would one day replace him in the Senate , and that Kim only continued to serve in the position to appeal to the opponents of the current King Bon Tapalo . During a gala on Malastare in the wake of the Vinta Harvest Classic , Senator Kim and his entourage were in attendance when the Senator received a communiqué from Naboo , revealing the death of his entire family in a airspeeder accident over Kaadara . Returning immediately to Naboo , Kim , his entourage and a large throng of mourners gathered at the Funeral Temple in Theed for his family ' s cremation . The funeral procession was led by King Tapalo into the Temple , where the three bodies were laid upon a massive pyre and reduced to ashes . Walking on foot to the nearby Livet Tower , Senator Kim reflected in silence around the Eternal Flame before giving an emotional farewell to his family , spreading their ashes into the Solleu River and over the Virdugo Plunge . Death . Broken by the tragedy , Kim devised a far - fetched plot to lead his only living son , the Jedi Knight Ronhar Kim , away from the Order and to carry on the family lineage . Returning to Coruscant within a month of his family ' s accident , Kim was angered when his only remaining son refused him , reaffirming his oath to the Jedi Order . Two years past without further communication between the Kims , though the whole affair weighed heavily on the Senator . In 52 BBY , Kim called upon Palpatine to discuss matters of great import at his home in Theed . Detailing his belief that the King and his adviser , Ars Veruna , had arranged the crash to kill his family as a means to make him retire , Kim outlined his plan to reveal the King ' s corruption to the Jedi High Council . While on Coruscant , Kim had arranged a meeting with his son with the intention of swaying him to his cause and getting him to investigate on Naboo . As Kim began to become frantic , the Sith Lords working behind the scenes on Naboo came to the conclusion that the Senator had become too much of a liability . Sidious , the alter - ego of Ambassador Palpatine , arranged with Sate Pestage to have Kim killed on Coruscant by a Maladian assassin . A week later , Kim was riding in an open - air speeder with his last remaining heir when the hired assassin fired a round at the car , killing Kim before committing suicide to evade capture and interrogation by the Jedi . Legacy . The funeral service for Senator Kim was held at the Naboo Embassy on Coruscant , and was attended by interim Senator and Kim ' s old friend , Palpatine . The secret Sith Lord used the funeral to meet with Kim ' s son , Ronhar Kim , the first Jedi he had ever encountered . Approaching Kim in the viewing room , Palpatine spoke with the Jedi about forming an alliance as the corpse of Senator Kim lay nearby in silence ; a bowl of purple flowers rested on his chest , along with a symbolic candle representing the Eternal Flame . Agreeing to the terms , Palpatine and Jedi Kim would form a close relationship as the Sith Lord sought to undo the Republic .