Highlights
- Amid political gridlock in the Republic, a few senators like Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were beacons of hope against corruption.
- Padmé Amidala risked her life to stand up for her people and resist Palpatine’s authoritarian rule as a dedicated senator.
- Representatives like Onaconda Farr and Riyo Chuchi also fought for peace and justice, despite facing no-win scenarios and overwhelming opposition.
The Star Wars prequel trilogy put a lot of emphasis on the intricate world of politics in the Republic, with a lot of it dealing with the Senate. In theory, this is a body of representatives from various worlds coming together to vote and discuss important decisions. In practice, however, it often created a political gridlock. Getting thousands of representatives from different worlds to come to a unanimous decision is no easy task. The Republic already had corruption issues.
Being a senator is hard enough already, yet somehow, amid all the problems that plagued the Senate, there were a handful who managed to avoid getting overwhelmed by power and tried to make a meaningful difference. This could be difficult, especially after the Republic turned into the Empire, and they were not always successful. But the handful of level-headed honest senators were a beacon of hope in a sea of corruption.
1 Bail Organa
A Man Willing To Stand Up To The Empire
There were few senators quite as selfless as Organa. Despite his privileged upbringing, he was surprisingly uninterested in issues that might bother others of his class, such as leaving a legacy and producing an heir, to the point that he happily adopted Leia as his own. He quickly became one of Palpatine’s biggest critics, seeing exactly where he was taking the Republic, and easily saw through many of his lies.
While many were ready to blindly follow out of fear, personal gain, or both, Organa never once believed Palpatine’s lies about Order 66 and even risked his own life trying to save fugitive Jedi. When the Republic became the Empire, he had to deal with the daunting task of maintaining the facade of an Imperial loyalist while secretly organizing the rebellion.
2 Mon Mothma
Openly Defied Emperor Palpatine
Mon Mothma was perhaps one of the most level-headed senators the Republic had, and she had to be. As a member of both the Republic and the Imperial Senate, Mothma did her best to act as a voice of reason amid all the corruption and greed that was driving many of her colleagues. She quickly realized the danger posed by Palpatine and spent a lot of her political career doing everything she could to reign in his grip on the Senate, even if her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. But she also had the daunting task of fighting tyranny on two fronts.
She was simultaneously trying to keep the Senate together while also organizing the Rebel Alliance. That’s not an easy battle to fight. To top it all off, she had the nerve to publicly denounce Palpatine knowing he would brand her a traitor for it. After finally defeating the Empire, Mothma became the New Republic’s first chancellor and dedicated herself to preventing another takeover from happening.
3 Padmé Amidala
A Senator Who Genuinely Cares About Her People
From the start, Padmé was a leader who refused to give up her ideals. As Queen of Naboo at only 14, she was doing her best to protect her people. She only left to get help, and when she failed to get aid from the Senate, she made a bold move. Many senators would have been happy to remain on Coruscant while their people suffered but Padmé risked her own life on the front lines.
As a senator, she spent a lot of her time resisting Palpatine’s increasingly authoritarian politics, even managing to throw the occasional wrench into his plans. She made a point of trying to understand the problems of ordinary people, whether that be learning about life on Tattooine or how the Clone Wars impacted her servants.
4 Onaconda Farr
A Committed Proponent Of Peace
The Rodian representative was a well-meaning leader who only wanted to feed his people at a time when he was constantly presented with no-win scenarios. Even the one time he did turn on the Republic, it wasn’t because of profit or power, but because his homeworld was experiencing a famine that was exploited by the Trade Federation.
He later jumped at the opportunity to turn on the Federation and became a vocal supporter of peace, only to find himself in a precarious position as his own people began to criticize his actions no matter what he did. Tragically, despite his best efforts to help Rodia, he was assassinated by his own assistant out of bitterness, and the act would end up indirectly causing an even bigger war on Umbara.
5 Riyo Chuchi
Advocated For Clone Rights Amid The Emperor’s Opposition
Though she may have been young and inexperienced compared to her peers, Chuchi made up for it with her determination and unwavering commitment to what she saw as right. During the Clone Wars, she was already a staunch advocate for a peaceful resolution despite overwhelming opposition, but her courage started to show in its aftermath. When the Republic became the Empire, Chuchi made the bold decision to use her position in the Imperial Senate to address issues others were too afraid of discussing, knowing it put her life in danger both from Palpatine and his supporters.
She became a particularly strong advocate for clones, who were being phased out and marginalized in favor of Stormtroopers, at one point almost managing to overturn yet another military funding bill in favor of one that granted them a pension. Even Palpatine’s last-minute intervention wasn’t enough to stop her from fighting for their rights.
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