Bureaucrat

A bureaucrat was a person who held an administrative position in an organization. Shodon Ko was a bureaucrat for the Hyperspace Navigator's Guild.

When Senator Palpatine tried to persuade Queen Padmé Amidala of the sovereign planet Naboo that the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, Finis Valorum, had a politically weak position in the Senate, Palpatine told Amidala that the intervention of Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda and Staff Aide Sei Taria in Valorum's speech to be an indication of a Republic mired by the interests of bureaucrats.

After a brief exchange between Valorum and his staff, the Chancellor agreed with the delegates of the Trade Federation—which had invaded Naboo to protest trade regulations—that a Senate committee be established to ascertain the situation on the planet. Frustrated by the Senate's bureaucracy and inaction, Queen Amidala tabled a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership. Palpatine was subsequently elected as the Republic's Supreme Chancellor due to the Senate's sympathy for Naboo and held on to his emergency powers during the Clone Wars, asserting absolute power at the end of the war as the Emperor of the New Galactic Empire; the final remnant of the Republic and democracy was abolished with the dissolution of the Imperial Senate just before the Battle of Yavin.

Text and facts from the “Bureaucrat/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.