Supreme Chancellor
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Supreme Chancellor (usually just Chancellor) is the title of the Head of State and Government of the Galactic Republic of the fictional Star Wars universe.
The Chancellor is elected by and from the members of the Galactic Senate and serves no more than two four-year terms. The Chancellor can be deposed by a vote of no confidence at any time. The Chancellor also serves as the head of the Senate, and the Jedi Council is also nominally under the Chancellor's authority.
The office was largely powerless in the last years of the Republic, similar to the Speaker of the House of Commons in the UK or Canada. The Chancellorship however was still a very prestigious position, despite the loss of power, and Chancellors retained a grand office and the title of "Excellency."
Chancellor Finis Valorum was seen in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 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. Palpatine was elected to succeed him.
Soon after he became Chancellor, Palpatine was faced with the threat from the Confederacy of Independent Systems, or Separatists. The Senate granted him emergency powers to deal with the Separatist threat, which Palpatine promised to return once the threat passed. He used these powers to make himself a virtual dictator. Despite a gradual erosion of freedom, Palpatine faced little opposition due to the specter of an attack by General Grievous.
Toward the end of the Clone Wars, evidence surfaced that Palpatine was actually Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith. The Jedi tried to arrest him, but failed. Using the supposed threat of a Jedi coup, Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the Galaxy, thus abolishing the office of Chancellor and ending the Republic.
The title was not revived by the New Republic/Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, which instead used the term Chief of State to designate the President of the Senate as head of state and government.
The Chancellorship may have been created as part of the Ruusan Reformation, as Pre-Ruusan leaders of the Republic were usually styled "President of the Senate".