Padme Amidala

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Padme Amidala
Basic facts
Organization:	Galactic Senate
Role:	former Queen and Senator
Location:	Naboo

Padme Amidala was a former queen and senator from Naboo, a planet near the outer rim territories in a galaxy far, far away. She is the mother of Rebel Alliance heroes Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

Career

Padme Amidala was born Padme Naberrie on Naboo. Her father, Ruwee, took Padme and her sister Sola to the capital city of Naboo, Theed, to improve their educational and service opportunities. Ruwee was also friends with Senator Onaconda Farr of Rodia, with whom Padme served in the Galactic Senate of the Republic and called "Uncle Ono" until the day of Farr's death at the hands of one of his pupils, Lolo. When Padme was 13, she was elected Princess of Theed and, at 14, she was elected Queen of Naboo. Padme took Amidala as her royal name during her two terms in office. As a security precaution, Padme often used an aide, Sabe, as a body double to allow Amidala to have free movement throughout Theed.

Trade Federation Blockade of Naboo

Padme Amidala faced a crisis early in her reign when the Trade Federation, under the leadership of Viceroy Nute Gunray acting as an agent for Sith lord Darth Sidious, established a blockade of Naboo. Gunray intended to capture Amidala to force her to sign a treaty legitimizing the blockade, however she escaped Naboo with the assistance of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Amidala intended to plead her planet's case against the blockade before the Senate with the assistance of Naboo's senator, Sheev Palpatine. During the escape, her ship developed engine problems and was forced to make an emergency landing on the outer rim planet of Tattooine which was under the jurisdiction of the Hutt clan, principally Jabba the Hutt. It was during her time on Tattooine, in the spaceport of Mos Espa, that Amidala met Shmi and Anakin Skywalker who were slaves to a Toydarian junk dealer named Watto. Like his mother and Watto, Amidala took to calling Anakin by the more informal Ani. In need of parts for their ship, and over the personal objections of Padme, Anakin was entered into the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace in hopes of securing the necessary parts to fix the ship. It was during this time that Darth Sidious dispatched his apprentice, Darth Maul, to locate Amidala. After securing the parts, along with Anakin's freedom, Qui-Gon Jinn, Skywalker and Amidala returned to the ship but were attacked en route by Darth Maul. They successfully escaped the Sith apprentice.

Once on Coruscant, Palpatine instructed Amidala that the Senate could do very little to help Naboo and suggested that Naboo might have to accept Trade Federation occupation, absent a change in Senate leadership. From the Senate floor, Amidala called for a vote of no confidence in then-Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate, Finis Valorum. During her motion, Amidala declared:

“

I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee! If this body is incapable of action, I suggest new leadership is needed. I call for a vote of confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership.

”

Valorum did not survive the vote. Amidala and her compatriots returned to Naboo where she enlisted the help of an indigenous amphibious race, the Gungans, to aid in defeating the droid armies of the Trade Federation. The Trade Federation was defeated in the Battle of Naboo. Sometime after the battle, she learned that Senator Palpatine had been elected Chancellor of the Galactic Senate.

Amidala would serve two full terms as Queen of Naboo. There was a popular movement to amend the Constitution to allow her to serve a third term, but she declined and was succeeded by Queen Jamillia.

Senator from Naboo

After her two terms as Queen, Padme Amidala succeeded Sheev Palpatine as Senator from Naboo at the request of Queen Jamillia. During her time in the Senate, there was a growing Separatist movement within the Republic under the political leadership of Count Dooku. This movement eventually was organized into the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but was also known as the Separatist Alliance. Amidala was one of a few senators who was openly against the Military Creation Act, which "would have raised an army to defend against the Separatists." Amidala was named to the Chancellor's Loyalist Committee where she served with her friend and colleague Bail Organa.

Amidala's position made her a target of several assassination attempts as a senator. Nute Gunray, viceroy of the Trade Federation, contracted bounty hunter Jango Fett to kill Amidala. Fett subcontracted the job to shape-shifting bounty hunter Zam Wessell. Wessell placed a bomb on Amidala's ship, which killed her aide and body double Sabe. After that attempt, Chancellor Palpatine placed Amidala under the security of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. Sometime after that decision, Wessell attempted to kill Amidala in her room with Kouhun snakes. That attempt was foiled by Skywalker. Kenobi and Skywalker chased and detained Wessell, but Jango Fett killed her with a Kaminoan poison dart before Wessell could reveal her contacts. For her protection, Amidala returned to Naboo with Skywalker as a personal protector while Kenobi pursued leads on Jango Fett. Though attracted to each other, the pair decided to keep their relationship professional given their work obligations.

Capture on Geonosis

Prompted by a vision of his mother, Shmi, Skywalker and Amidala left Naboo and traveled to Tattooine. From Tattooine, they received and retransmitted a message from Obi-Wan Kenobi that he had pursued Jango Fett to the planet Geonosis, where Kenobi had discovered a droid army factory. Amidala directed Skywalker to take her to Geonosis to help Kenobi.

Amidala and her escort were captured by the Geonosians, a race of Separatists under the political leadership of Poggle the Lesser. Amidala was scheduled for execution along with Skywalker and Kenobi, however an intervention by Knights of the Jedi Order saved the trio from execution. During their escape, Amidala fell off her escape ship but later caught up with her protectors after they engaged Sith lord Count Dooku on Geonosis.

The Clone Wars

Padme Amidala continued to oppose the war on humanitarian and financial grounds. She attempted back channel diplomacy with Sepratist senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon, who was killed in an accident, as well as Mandalorian leader Duchess Satine Kryze. Amidala also discovered evidence for a new droid factory being funded and constructed by the InterGalactic Banking Clan when she traveled on a diplomatic mission to Cato Nemoidia. The Nemoidians continued to denounce Nute Gunray, though the evidence Amidala found exposed a connection between the Nemoidians and the Separatists. Amidala also convinced her friend and colleague, Rush Clovis, to disclose corruption within the Scipio-based Banking Clan.

Her efforts made her the subject of continued attempts on her life. She was taken prisoner by Separatist military leader General Grievous in an effort to fend off a Republic attack on his ship, the Malevolence. She was poisoned during her trip to Cato Nemoidia. She was also the subject of an assassination attempt by Ziro the Hutt, uncle of Jabba the Hutt, for providing evidence which led to Ziro's imprisonment. Hutt contracted bounty hunter Aurra Sing to kill Amidala on Alderaan during a refugee crisis conference called by Amidala and hosted by Senator Bail Organa. Sing was foiled in her attempts to kill Amidala by Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Amidala was instrumental in foiling a plot by the Separatist alliance to reintroduce a biological weapon called the Blue Shadow virus, which was being developed and tested in secret on Naboo; Amidala herself contracted the virus, but was given an antidote by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker which saved her life.

The First Galactic Empire

At the conclusion of the Clone Wars, an alleged assassination attempt by the Jedi Order, prompted Chancellor Palpatine to reorganize the Galactic Republic into the First Galactic Empire with Palpatine as Emperor. The reorganization was widely praised in the Senate but Amidala, who was against the decision to reorganize, confided to her friend and colleague Bail Organa:

“

So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.

”

Soon after, Amidala traveled to Mustafar to consult Anakin Skywalker about allegations made by Obi Wan Kenobi. She fell ill on Mustafar and was taken by Kenobi to a health facility on Polis Massa, where she later died.

Family

Padme Amidala had a husband, Anakin Skywalker, and two twin children, Luke and Leia. Amidala herself died in childbirth.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Padme Amidala. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Padme Amidala - Google News

See also

• Star Wars influencers
• Bail Organa
• Garindan
• Jabba the Hutt
• Jango Fett
• Nute Gunray
• Satine Kryze
• Wilhuff Tarkin
• Yoda

External links

• Padme Amidala profile