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There were on the order of 1000 senators in the senate. It seems the Star Wars galaxy was incredibly vast with millions of systems.

In light of this, it seems a bit strange that Naboo would have a seat on the senate. As best I can tell the world is fairly nondescript and inconsequential from the content shown/discussed in the movies.

The senate was a relatively small representation of the overall galaxy - why was Naboo important enough to get a seat on the senate?

Either canon/legends answers are fine.

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  • 10
    Naboo was important because of its extensive spice moons and plasma core.
    – Valorum
    Oct 2, 2017 at 15:37
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    In real world, the importance of a nation is not always related to its population. For example, Vatican has a tiny population but the voice of his leader is heard almost anywhere in the world.
    – Taladris
    Oct 2, 2017 at 15:41
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    IIRC the senator was the representative of the sector. A non-descript planet could achieve a senatorial role simply by being the most important planet in that region of space. Exceptions being made for the most important planets of course (think Core worlds having multiple senatorial planets per sector).
    – amflare
    Oct 2, 2017 at 15:46
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    The description on wookieepedia mentions that Naboo also represents the backwater planets of the Chommell sector. Evidently Naboo is the most civilised and prosperous planet in the vicinity.
    – Valorum
    Oct 2, 2017 at 15:54
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    It probably helps you getting representation in the Senate if you have an undercover Sith Lord manipulating things.
    – Wiggo the Wookie
    Oct 2, 2017 at 16:04

1 Answer 1

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It isn't

As I've mentioned on the site before, it's not necessarily true that a senator represents a single system. Palpatine and Padmé actually represent the Chommell sector, a somewhat larger region of space (though how much larger is unknown). Pablo Hidalgo confirmed this on Twitter in January 2017:

enter image description here

@thesupremepablo Do senators represent sectors or systems? Trandosha and Kashyyyk are in the same sector and each have a senator.

@pablohidalgo Depends on population and other factors. Amidala and Palpatine before her represented the Chommell sector.

Why both (known) senators of that sector have come from Naboo is a question that has thus far not been answered; some possibilities include:

  • Naboo is the only sovereign system in the sector
  • Naboo is the largest sovereign system in the sector
  • Blind chance
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    @Valorum Hey, don't blame me that they keep retconning this nonsense. Padme's Databank article also calls her the Senator of Naboo, which leads me to believe that "Naboo" is a convenient shorthand for "Chommell", probably to the consternation of any other planets in the sector
    – Jason Baker
    Oct 2, 2017 at 15:55
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    Makes little sense that there isn't a military ready to break a blockade on their capital world
    – Andrey
    Oct 2, 2017 at 18:29
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    @Andrey Not even every country on Earth has a standing army
    – Jason Baker
    Oct 2, 2017 at 18:45
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    Indeed. The UN never refers to the council members by the city or building from which they operate their domestic government.
    – can-ned_food
    Oct 2, 2017 at 23:02
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    @can-ned - But many other organizations do. "The White House" did this. "Pyongyang" said that. "The Kremlin" did so-and-so.
    – Adamant
    Oct 3, 2017 at 4:22

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