Supreme Chancellor / Legends Supreme Chancellor , usually simply known as the Chancellor or Chancellor ( name of office holder ) and also known as Chancellor of the Republic , Galactic Chancellor , Grand Chancellor , High Chancellor , President of the Republic , or President of the Senate was the title of the Head of State and Government as well as Senate President and Senate Chair of the Galactic Republic . The Office of the Supreme Chancellor was the central name for the advisors who where important for the Chancellor , such as the " Vice Chair " and the " financial advisors , " although the " office " existed it was not very powerful . Appointment of the Chancellor . The Chancellor was elected by and from the senators and representatives of the Galactic Senate for four year terms . The Chancellor could be removed from office at any time by the Senate with a Vote of No Confidence . All of the Chancellors elected between 1400 BBY and 1000 BBY were Jedi , a trend finally broken with the 1000 BBY election of Tarsus Valorum . Powers and functions of the Chancellorship . The Chancellorship was largely a powerless position in the last years of the Republic , especially after the Ruusan Reformation s , and the Chancellor served mainly as an officiator of parliamentary procedure and the first among equals in the Senate . However , it had the authority to call an Extraordinary Session of the Senate , could invoke " Chancellor ' s prerogative " in circumventing minor aspects of the Senate ' s parliamentary procedure and held absolute control of the Right of Speech within the Senate , in extreme cases having the right to banish a Senator from the chamber of speech until further notice ( or the next session of Senate ) . The Chancellor also served as the head of the Senatorial Council . It was still a very prestigious position , however , and the Chancellor had a grand office in both the Senate Rotunda ' s Chancellery and in the dome - like Senate Office Building in Galactic City . The Chancellor was properly addressed as " Your Excellency " . The symbol of the office of the Chancellor , as well as the Galactic Senate as a whole , was a fanned spear . This sigil was also emblazoned prominently on the Chancellor ' s podium in the center of the Senate Rotunda ' s Main Chamber . When in the Main Chamber , the Chancellor usually wore a Veda cloth robe . They were outwardly identified by a azure blue sash around the waist in the case of humanoids , the same colour as the Senate Guards , called the " Blue Band of Chancery " , and thus , this particular color was forbidden to be worn by anyone else . Any Senator who still chose to add blue to parts of their wardrobe , such as Senator Palpatine choosing a blue collar , was thus declaring their interest in becoming chancellor themselves . The Chancellor was elected from among the Senators who made up the Galactic Senate and served a term of office that lasted for four standard years . A Chancellor could legally serve only two consecutive four - year terms before he or she had to step down due to term limits . Chancellor Finis Valorum was seen during the Blockade of Naboo and presided over the dispute between Naboo and the Trade Federation . He was ousted when Queen Amidala , on Senator Palpatine ' s urging , moved for a vote of no confidence . The office became much more powerful during the term of Chancellor Palpatine , who was able to convince the Senate to grant him a range of " emergency " powers due to the Separatist Crisis and then the Clone Wars , including an unconstitutional extension of his term of office after 24 BBY for the duration of the Separatist Crisis and authority as Commander - in - Chief of their new military during the Clone Wars . The Chancellor was given more direct power over administrative concerns , and he was allowed to overrule local planetary and sectorial governments . The Sector Governance Decree allowed him to appoint military governors to every planet in the Republic , and the Security Act amendment gave him complete control over the Jedi Order and Republic military , stripping both the Jedi and the Senate of their previous oversight . Eventually , Palpatine became a dictator and proclaimed himself Emperor of the galaxy , thus abolishing the office of Chancellor and transforming the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire . The position was not revived by the New Republic , which chose instead to call its Head of State and Government the Chief of State . Although the office of Chancellor had existed as a symbol of good for thousands of years since the dawn of the Galactic Republic , Palpatine ' s thirteen years in the Chancellorship , added to his reign as Galactic Emperor , forever tainted the once noble and prestigious position to the point where it was far too controversial to be revived in the New Republic . Style of office . The Chancellor of the Republic used the style of " Your Excellency " ( this was in contrast to the style of " Your Imperial Majesty " used during the later Galactic Empire ) , for example when conversing with Grand Army of the Republic officers such as Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin . When in the senate , the Chancellor traditionally referred to him / herself in the third person as " The Chair " / " The Chair ( wo ) man " to highlight his / her position as " primus / a inter pares " ( first among equals ) ; however , Palpatine notably never used this style of speech . Behind the scenes . The Chancellorship may not be the original name for the Republic ' s leader . The leader of the Republic had previously been styled President of the Republic or President of the Senate in works as early as 1976 ' s , though this may also have simply been one of the Chancellor ' s many titles . There is further confusion in that " The Essential Chronology " and " The New Essential Chronology " use both titles to describe the Republic ' s leader during the Great Sith War . It is possible that the offices of President and Chancellor existed independently of each other at first , but were at some point merged ( possibly as part of the Ruusan Reformation ) . In addition , in " " , Palpatine was mentioned to be the President of the Galactic Senate , although " " updated it to being the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate .