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“ | That is our goal: To become the New Republic in fact as well as name. | „ |
~ Mon Mothma. |
Mon Mothma is a major character in the Star Wars franchise.
A native of Chandrila, she was a female Human who served as an important political figure from the waning days of the Galactic Republic, one of the founders of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and the first Chief of State of the New Republic.
When the foundation of the Galactic Empire replaced the Republic that had existed for many millennia, she met with her allies in the Senate, such as Senators Padmé Amidala and Bail Prestor Organa. In 2 BBY, she signed the Corellian Treaty, along with Organa, Garm Bel Iblis, Rahm Kota, and Galen Marek, in order to form the Alliance to restore the Republic. She, along with the others, were taken captive aboard the Death Star I, although they were rescued.
She played an important role in the ensuing Galactic Civil War, and after the decisive Rebel victory at the Battle of Endor, she became the first Chief of State of the newly founded New Republic. She also had a daughter, Leida. In 24 ABY, she passed away peacefully on Chandrila.
Portrayals[]
- In Return of the Jedi, she was portrayed by Caroline Blakiston.
- In Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, Rebels and Andor, she was portrayed and voiced by Genevieve O'Reilly.
- In The Clone Wars, she was voiced by Kath Soucie.
Biography[]
Senator[]
Mon Mothma was born in 48 BBY into a wealthy and influential family living on Chandrila. Her mother, Tanis Mothma was the governor of the planet, and her father was an arbiter-general for the Republic, so it came as no surprise when she would follow in their influential footsteps and become a Senator and later on lead a Rebellion against the Empire. As a senator, Mothma was a proponent of the rights of local systems. She was also friends with fellow Senators Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala. Just before the Clone Wars, she became a member of the Loyalist Committee along with fellow Senators Bail Organa, Padmé Amidala, Fang Zar, and other prominent politicians. With Organa, Amidala, and Senator Onaconda Farr, Mothma championed a movement to reduce and eventually halt the production of clone troopers, to help stop the fighting and let diplomacy resume. When Farr was murdered by his aide Lolo Purs after Amidala's speech championing the cause, Mothma continued to work with the Senate while Organa and Amidala investigated the crime.
The Clone Wars[]
The Galactic Senate became embroiled in debates regarding the cost of fighting the Clone Wars. A particularly passionate topic of debate was whether the Senate should fund the creation of more clone troopers to combat the Separatist Alliance, despite the Republic nearing bankruptcy as a result of the war. Senator Gume Saam argued in favor of a bill that would open new lines of credit to fund the Republic's war effort. Mothma spoke out against the measure, arguing that it would essentially deregulate the banks. The Senate, at Organa's urging, tabled any decision on the proposal until the matter could be considered further. After a Separatist attack destroyed Coruscant's power generator, the Senate voted on the measure and opted to deregulate the banks in order to open additional lines of credit to fund the war effort.
She later signed the Petition of 2000, along with many other senators, in an effort to request that Chancellor Palpatine reduce his power. The Delegation of 2000 presented the petition to Chancellor Palpatine, but the Dark Lord made false promises saying that he would give up his emergency powers and silenced Fang Zar when he tried to speak.
Rebellion[]
During the Galactic Civil War, Mon Mothma defied the Emperor, like Bail Organa and other senators who only secretly backed the Rebellion. Her forthright views against the Empire brought her under closer investigation by ISB, COMPNOR and even Emperor Palpatine himself, thus preventing her from dabbling in more effective covert efforts to undermine Imperial rule. She continued to use her official channels, senatorial privilege and political contacts to effect change, maintaining the belief that a system of the government, no matter how broken, still has some degree of effectiveness. During these years, she frequently met with colleagues on Coruscant and other worlds, introduced fruitless measures to grant local systems relief from Imperial policies, and tried to place Senate's oversight on Imperial operations. She also tutored Bail's adopted daughter, Leia Organa, in political and diplomatic affairs, preparing her to succeed her father as Alderaan's representative in the Imperial Senate and eventually lead a galaxy-spanning resistance movement.
Before the Battle of Yavin, Mothma resided on Yavin IV. She and the Rebel leadership learned of an Imperial weapons test. Mothma and the other Rebel leaders asked Jyn Erso to find her father Erso as he was a designer of the Death Star and obtain more information on this Imperial superweapon. Erso was able to learn from her father that the Imperial weapon was called the Death Star, and that he had built a flaw into the Death Star to disable or even destroy the weapon.
When Erso briefed Mothma and the others on the Death Star, some of the Rebel leadership wanted to surrender to the Empire. Talking with Bail Organa, Mothma decided that she would continue fighting. She and Bail decided it was time to contact the Jedi who they knew from the Clone Wars to come out of hiding.
After Erso transmitted the plans to the Rebels, Princes Leia took them to Tattooine, but was captured by Darth Vader before she could find Kenobi and bring him to Alderaan. After Leia's capture, the Emperor disbanded the Senate and Bail Organa died when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan. Mothma went into hiding, serving as the Alliance political leader of the Rebel Alliance. She was always careful to keep her distance from the fleet, as she and the other leaders knew that the Rebellion could withstand the loss of either its fleet or its leadership, but not both. Mothma did meet with the remainder of the Alliance to discuss the threat of the second Death Star and briefed its commanders before the climatic Battle of Endor.
After the Battle of Endor[]
Legends[]
A month after the Battle of Endor, Mon Mothma declared the end of the Rebellion and the formation of the New Republic. Working with Princess Leia she and the other leaders of the alliance formed a provisional council.
Approximately two years after Endor the New Republic took Coruscant. Mothma and the New Republic government relocated to Coruscant, taking up residence on the capital world.
Caridian Ambassador Furgan poisoned Mothma with nano destroyers. She resigned from New Republic leadership, handing over the reins of power to Leia Organa-Solo. The Jedi healer Cighal was able to help her by removing the nano destroyers from Mothma's body before they could kill her. Once they were removed Mothma largely healed from the infection, but her health still was never the same afterwards. Mothma lived long enough to see the Imperial Remnant sign a peace treaty with the New Republic. She died 24 years after the Battle of Yavin, shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy.
Canon[]
Twenty days after the Battle of Endor, Mothma tasked Organa with traveling to Naboo in order to gather support for the formation of a New Republic. Organa was reluctant to leave her other duties and recommended that Mothma send diplomats in her place, but the chancellor believed that Organa's skill and reputation were essential for the mission as the princess represented the best that the Rebel Alliance had to offer. Organa, along with her assigned pilot, Lieutenant Shara Bey, departed for the mission. Their time there coincided with the Empire launching an attack against the planet, as part of Operation: Cinder, but Organa and Bey fought alongside Queen Sosha Soruna to repel the Imperial attack. The Alliance continued fighting back against other strikes in Operation: Cinder for months. The Alliance formed the New Republic in the months following the Battle of Endor. The Galactic Senate was reestablished and headquartered on Chandrila, as the New Republic felt that Chandrila represented a planet with big ideas that the Republic would need in order to be successful. Mothma was elected as the first chancellor of the New Republic Senate, and, to her great reluctance, the charter of the chancellor included the emergency powers that had once been given to Palpatine during the Clone Wars.
It was Mothma's intention to do away with those powers, believing them to be a poison to democracy. Mothma also planned to propose a massive military disarmament once the Galactic Civil War came to end, hoping to cut the size of the New Republic Starfleet by 90%. The other ten percent would go towards training and supporting local militias, which would be responsible for the defense of their worlds.
Mothma eventually retired. In the years following her retirement the Senate split into two opposing factions - the Populists and Centrists. The Populists largely supported Mothma's vision of a decentralized government that let individual worlds have a large amount of autonomy. The Centrists wanted a strong central government with a large military. The partisan bickering between the two factions crippled the Senate.
When Mothma learned that Leia Organa was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker she sent a message of support to her friend. In her message Mothma hinted that she had long been aware of the truth of Leia's parentage.