Dissolution of the Imperial Senate The dissolution of the Imperial Senate was the suspension of the legislative body of the Galactic Empire , enacted by the decree of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine nineteen years after the Empire ' s founding . Background . As the Clone Wars came to an end , Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Republic ordered a special session of Congress and proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor , turning the old Republic into a New Order in his image . The motion was eagerly supported by an overwhelming majority of the Galactic Senate , aided by Palpatine ' s important popularity following his role in the Clone Wars . In the wake of the regime change , the Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate which over time started growing weaker as the planet ary governor s assumed more responsibility over their territories . In addition , the minority of Senators who had opposed Palpatine ' s declaration of the New Order , such as Alderaan Senator Bail Organa and Chandrila Senator Mon Mothma , grew more and more vocal , becoming a major concern for the Emperor . However , the Emperor preserved the Senate in order to make the Empire ' s member worlds believe that they still had a part to play in the government . Secretly , the Emperor planned to disband the Senate since the formation of the Empire in the proclamation of the New Order , but needed its body to preserve order until the planet - killing Death Star battle station was completed . Weapons developer Orson Callan Krennic predicted the Senate would be of little concern after the dish was installed on the Death Star . Dissolution . After the Imperial senator Leia Organa , Prince ss of Alderaan , was found out to work with the enemy Rebel Alliance and arrested above Tatooine , the Emperor finally issued the dissolution order . While being detained aboard the Star Destroyer " Devastator " , Organa invoked her status as an Imperial senator in hopes she would be released . However , the Emperor ' s enforcer Darth Vader informed her that the Senate was being disbanded as they spoke . Aboard the Death Star , gathered leaders of the Empire , including several Joint Chiefs , were informed of the situation by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin . Aftermath . With the last remnant of the Galactic Republic out of the way , the Imperial governors now had full control over their territories . Along with the Senate , many local governing institutions were dissolved as well , leaving many qualified people unemployed . Meanwhile , the Imperial Security Bureau began the process of arresting many members of the Senate , including some who had served in the past , and taking them to the Arrth - Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant . The former delegates were to remain imprisoned there until the Bureau could assess the level of participation each had had with the Rebels . The Imperial authorities , however , wanted to reach out to possible sympathizers , hoping to convince them to join the " right " side . The Rebel agent Eneb Ray and other allied spies did attempt to rescue a group of senators scheduled to be executed , but fell into a trap set by the Empire . Ultimately , the Arrth - Eno Mission resulted in the death of all the senators and the Rebel spies , except for Ray . Some of the most prominent Rebel senators , however , managed to stay away from the Empire ' s grasp . Leia Organa was rescued from the Death Star ' s detention , and the battle station ended up being destroyed by the Rebels . Mon Mothma of Chandrila , a long - time insurgent and one of the Rebel Alliance ' s secret founders , also managed to escape the purge that followed the Senate ' s dissolution . Although the assembly had long been an empty husk , Mothma felt particularly disoriented because she no longer had an official title . Similarly , Leia Organa had always hoped the Senate would be there at the end to help rebuild the galaxy once the Emperor was gone . The authorized holonews outlets obediently repeated the official narrative : Rebel traitors had infiltrated the Senate , which led to a terrorist strike on a major Imperial military installation on Scarif . Therefore , to bring a swift end to that threat and expose the insurgents among the Imperial bureaucracy , Palpatine needed to supersede and suspend the Senate for the duration of the emergency .