Grand Vizier, also referred to as Vizier for short, was a position assumed by the figure who served as prime minister and head of government of the Galactic Empire, therefore the one helming the Imperial Ruling Council. The Grand Vizier answered only to the Emperor himself and acted as an intermediary to upper-level officials from the military, intelligence or ISB such as the Commander-in-Chief or Supreme Commander, the Administrator, Grand Moffs, Directors and high-ranking commanders. In the absence of the sovereign or his natural successor, this official stood in as a proxy Emperor and the leader of the provisional government on the Imperial Center of Coruscant.
The only figure to ever hold the office was Lord Mas Amedda, who had previously been prominent in the Galactic Republic as Vice Chair under Supreme Chancellors Finis Valorum and Sheev Palpatine in turn, all while becoming a willing collaborator of the Sith Order - it was this secret fraternity with the Sith that earned him the position when the New Order was imposed. In the wake of the power vacuum created by the loss of leadership at Endor, the Grand Vizier was granted the reins of the Galactic Empire by default, though he was not universally acknowledged. Instead, Lord Amedda was a mere puppet for the propagandistic purposes of Counselor Gallius Rax and ultimately surrendered the collapsed regime to the New Republic in exchange for his freedom, leaving him the nominal overseer of the Coruscant provisional government.
History[]
Prior to the Age of the Empire, Speaker Mas Amedda served as Vice Chair of the Senate during the waning years of the Galactic Republic in the successive administrations of the last Supreme Chancellors, Finis Valorum and Sheev Palpatine. By the time of the Clone Wars, he was one of the very few privy to his latter superior's Sith persona and shared private confidences with him related to the progress and hinderances of the Grand Plan. At the of the conflict in 19 BBY, Speaker Amedda stood by Chancellor Palpatine as he anointed himself Emperor and proclaimed a New Order through the Galactic Empire. For his tacite contribution and willing assistance, the Chagrian was appointed Grand Vizier in the Imperial Ruling Council, thus second only to the Emperor and a part of his inner circle.
One of Lord Amedda's earliest actions was to give a public speech demonstration on the Imperial Center of Coruscant. The Grand Vizier trumpeted the end of the so-called tyranny of the Jedi Order to the amassed crowd - as further testimony to their downfall, the Chagrian had a collection of lightsabers, including one of Grand Master Yoda's blades, burned in a smelter.
In 14 BBY, Lord Amedda summoned Governor Wilhuff Tarkin to Imperial Center at the Emperor's request. The Grand Vizier and the Imperial Guard greeted the Moff as he arrived, before leading him to a courtroom where the Commander-in-Chief and Emperor's Fist, Darth Vader, alongside ISB Deputy Director Harus Ison dealt with a gathering of misfits, gangsters and bounty hunters. All four men later took part in a meeting of the Ruling Council and Joint Chiefs, with Lord Amedda finally informing Lord Vader and Governor Tarkin that they would undertake a mission to Murkhana by order of the Emperor. Around this time, Berch Teller's rebels stole the Carrion Spike and used it to attack Galidraan Station. Believing that the Empire could not let such insurgency to run unfettered, the Grand Vizier rejected ISB's suggestion to allow the lost starship's escape.
Lord Amedda also supervised Director Orson Callan Krennic's work on Project Stardust, a superweapon program whom Governor Tarkin was also charged with monitoring. Prior to the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, Governor Arihnda Pryce of Lothal traveled to Coruscant, to discuss her homeworld's industrial and mining sectors, and was greeted by Lord Amedda.
At some point following the disastrous Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, a crew headed by gambler and smuggler Lando Calrissian made a bid to steal the Imperialis, Emperor Palpatine's luxury yacht which was on its way for a refit. Commander Pasqual contacted Lord Amedda to notify him of the situation, with the Chagrian warning him of the consequences of not retrieving the Imperialis and coldly remarking he should keep in mind he had already failed once by losing it in the first place. The Grand Vizier then came into the Emperor's throne room, informing him of the shuttle's theft.
Maintaining his status as the Emperor's intermediary throughout the war, the Chagrian controlled overall access to the sovereign and made calls on his behalf to other Imperial notables. In the aftermath of the Duel on Cloud City, Lord Amedda tried to contact Lord Vader on the Executor, as Emperor Palpatine wished to know of his progress concerning the young Jedi trainee Luke Skywalker, but was only met with excuses from Admiral Firmus Piett, who cautiously told the Grand Vizier that the Commander-in-Chief was unavailable.
In 4 ABY, the Battle of Endor saw the end of the reigning Dark Lords of the Sith, Palpatine and Vader. Lord Amedda was thus the topmost surviving figure in the absence of the two Imperial leaders and he tried to hold the reins in their stead as a proxy Emperor. Within a year following the deaths of the Emperor and the Commander-in-Chief, the Grand Vizier was all but powerless, a mere puppet maneuvered by more cunning warlords. While Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax consolidated his hold over the Imperial Remnants through assuming the mantle of Counselor, Lord Amedda was reduced to a mere public front, imprisoned in the Imperial Palace and coerced to recite supportive propaganda speeches. Following his captor's death at the Battle of Jakku, the Grand Vizier was free to sign the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic. For his part in ending the conflict, Lord Amedda was allowed to resume his rule on Coruscant at the helm of the local provisional government. However, to ensure that neither the Chagrian or his faction posed a threat to the new democracy, the New Republic assigned overseers on the former capital world.