Garm Bel Iblis

> "*The Corellian sector, one of the founding fathers of the Republic, is not seceding. However, Corellia will not participate in what it deems a profound error that threatens its sovereignty.*"
> ― Bel Iblis on Corellia's legal neutrality
>
>

**Garm Bel Iblis** is the former Senator of Corellia for the Galactic Republic and current Chancellor of the New Republic. He was also a former rogue General of the Rebel Alliance and a nominal Admiral of the New Republic Navy (Only for the duration of a single battle). A staunch Corellian patriot, Bel Iblis gained notoriety in the era of the Clone Wars as the newly-minted Senator of Corellia by invoking the High Republic-era legal clause of *Contemplanys Hermi*, which effectively excluded Corellia from the War effort and political involvement in the Senate while remaining a member of the Republic. He later went on to serve briefly as a General in the Rebel Alliance under Mon Mothma, but after becoming disillusioned with the Chandrillan leader, he would leave the Alliance to wage his own war against the Galactic Empire. He would only rejoin the Alliance on the invitation of Leia Organa, who requested the assistance of his 'Katana Fleet' dreadnoughts for the Battle of Jakku, going so far as to give him an honorary Admiralship for the battle.

In the era of the New Republic, an elderly Bel Iblis would remain a war hero and symbol of military supremacy to the Galaxy. And despite retiring to private life for a period, he returned to the political spotlight after Chancellor Mothma passed the Military Disarmament Act in 9 ABY, being against it fundamentally and he would join forces with the New Republic Senator for Corellia to oppose the act and to assist the Senator politically in an advisory role. After the dual military crises of 12 ABY, Bel Iblis would also come out in opposition of Chancellor Tynnra Pamlo, and would eventually win the Chancellery himself against her in what was described as a 'great Galactic upset'. He has served as the Chancellor ever since, making yearly attempts to repeal the Military Disarmament Act. He is expected to win re-election when his term ends in early 22 ABY.

## Biography

This allowed Corellia and, by extension, its senator some autonomy during the Clone Wars. And while that gave Bel Iblis and his allies in the Senate a place to meet in their dissent of the growing power around Palpatine, it also painted a target on the back of the Senator's homeworld which ultimately led to Corellia being forcefully annexed at the start of the Galactic Empire.

Bel Iblis lost his wife and children in the annexation of Corellia and went into hiding, forming a coalition of Corellians loyal to the memory of their homeworld and eager for revenge against the Empire, as their world was reduced to a world of shipyards and slums.

Bel Iblis' movement eventually merged with the Rebel Alliance under Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, though he came to be distrustful of his former allies and his group splintered from the Rebel Alliance shortly before the Battle of Yavin IV, and went into hiding once again, this time beginning a guerilla war campaign against the Imperial presence on Corellia with the intent of freeing the planet themselves. This would continue right up until the Battle of Endor, and after a meeting with Leia Organa, Bel Iblis agreed to bring his secret, highly-advanced Republic-era dreadnoughts to the Battle of Jakku if the New Republic aided his campaign to liberate Corellia. Under those terms, Bel Iblis became a nominal Admiral in the New Republic Navy and was instrumental in the defeat of the Imperial Remnant and was also one of the signatories of the Galactic Concordance.

After the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY, Bel Iblis retreated into relative obscurity for the first time in his political career. He was effectively a private citizen for some time, though he remained an idol to most members of the New Republic Military and was celebrated as a war hero by those in service, and reassumed control of his Corellian partisans for the Thrawn Campaign, relinquishing it again after the Grand Admiral's assassination. He was publicly against the Military Disarmament Act passing into law in 9 ABY, reigniting his grudge match with Mon Mothma, who was now Chancellor of the New Republic, and Garm Bel Iblis officially re-entered politics as an advisor to the new Corellian Senator. He was often regarded as 'the power behind the throne', believed to have complete sway over the Senator who relied on Bel Iblis heavily.

Bel Iblis would then heavily criticize then-Chancellor Tynnra Pamlo after the Disciples of Ragnos Crisis and the short-lived conflict with the Empire Reborn in 14 ABY, citing the two events as the reason the Military Disarmament Act needed to be revisited and repealed. This would lay the groundwork for his campaign for the Chancellery in 18 ABY, which he viewed as an inevitable and weighty responsibility he had to bear in order to restore peace to the Galaxy.

Him being in the running drew controversy due to him not being an official sitting member of the Galactic Senate but his campaign was able to cite his previous tenures in the Galactic Republic to satisfy that requirement for candidacy. Regardless, his campaign remained highly contentious within the New Republic, especially after Grandmaster Leia Organa Solo was asked to speak to the Galactic Senate concerning the dangers of militarization from the perspective of Galactic peacekeepers. Taking that as a threat to his campaign directly, Bel Iblis was able to spin the speech as a declaration of the New Jedi Order becoming politicized, which won him massive support among the New Republic worlds which had not supported the reinstatement of the Order. Eventually, he won the Chancellery despite Pamlo having been projected to win, causing momentary chaos in the New Republic as pro-pacifism protests erupted across a handful of influential worlds.

Bel Iblis was able to score an early political win as Chancellor, however, by signing the Pellaeon-Bel Iblis treaty, which ended New Republic hostilities with the Imperial Remnant and ended the Galactic Civil War for the second time officially. Bemused, Bel Iblis was quoted as pointing out how his signature is now on two treaties which alleged to end the same conflict.

Other than the treaty, however, Bel Iblis' term has been unproductive concerning his campaign promises to realize a proper New Republic Military. He succeeded in employing the ten percent of the military that remained under the Military Disarmament Act to perform various 'galactic peacekeeping' duties-- Widely interpreted as a slight against the New Jedi Order --one of these to shadow and collaborate with the New Order Exploratory Force in expanding New Republic purview to the Unknown Regions and Wild Space. Unofficially, the rumor is that Bel Iblis implemented the attachments in order to keep an eye on burgeoning Jedi. Additionally, it's rumored that Bel Iblis is a believer in the gossip of an 'order' rising in the Unknown Regions and that is also his reasoning behind him stationing military forces in the remotest regions of the galaxy.

## Appearance

Jokingly, it is often said that there was not a time that Garm Bel Iblis did not appear 'old'. He was known to have grey hair even in his fourties, and has continued his slow path to absolute seniority throughout his life. He is, however, never seen without some sort of blaster strapped to his hip. When asked about it, he often remarks that Corellian ways 'die hard'.

## Personality

Garm Bel Iblis is known for his abrasive, but pragmatic mentality to life. He does nothing without having a compelling and reasonable explanation behind it, even if those actions are viewed as morally questionable. This is seen prominently in his 'betrayal' of his friend Leia Organa Solo, after using her well-intentioned speech to the Senate as political fuel to ensure his election to the Chancellery. A brilliant military strategist and renowned soldier even at his elderly age, it is often said that there is not a keener strategist in the New Republic than it's Chancellor.