Gregor Killist

Overview
"We will fight! We will fight until we triumph and we will triumph!"

- Gregor Killist in 222 ABY

Gregor Killist (20 April 189 ABY – 30 April 245 ABY) was a Corulag-born Republic politician and the leader of the Republican Fascist Party, popularly known as the Rescist Party. He was the ruler of the New Republic from 233 ABY to 245 ABY, serving as Chancellor from 233 ABY to 245 ABY.

A decorated veteran of the Super Galactic War, Killist joined the Rescist Party in 220 ABY and became its leader in 221 ABY. Following his imprisonment after a failed coup in 223 ABY, he gained support by promoting nationalism, antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He was appointed chancellor in 233 ABY, and quickly established a totalitarian and fascist dictatorship. Killist pursued a foreign policy with the declared goal of seizing "living space" for the New Republic, directing the resources of the state toward this goal. His rebuilt army invaded the mid-rim in 239 ABY, leading to the outbreak of the Second Super Galactic War.

Within three years, the New Republic occupied most of the Galaxy. However, the Mandalorians gained the upper hand from 242 ABY onward and in 245 ABY Mandalorian armies invaded the New Republic from all sides. His forces committed numerous atrocities during the war, including the systematic killing of as many as 17 million civilians including the genocide of an estimated six million non-humans, a crime known as the 'Cleansing'.

During the final days of the war in 245 ABY, Killist married his long-time mistress Evon Teri. Less than 40 hours later, the two committed suicide.

Early years
"Stupid old fool"

- Gregor Killist's reaction when his father told him that he wanted him to become a banker.

Gregor Killist was born at the Temple Hotel, a hotel on Corulag, on 20 April 189 ABY, the fourth child of six. His father, Gregory Killist (137 ABY–203 ABY), was a customs official. His mother, Klara Polizz (160–207 ABY), was Gregory's third wife. She was also his half-niece, so a senatorial dispensation was obtained for the marriage. Of Gregory and Klara's six children, only Gregor and his sister Pawla, seven years his junior, reached adulthood. Killist's father also had a son, Gregory Jr., and a daughter, Angulam, by his second wife.

Killist had a troubled childhood, as his father was violent to him and violent towards his mother. Killist himself said that, as a boy, he was often beaten by his father. Years later, he told his secretary: "I then resolved never again to cry when my father whipped me. A few days later I had the opportunity of putting my will to the test. My mother, frightened, took refuge in front of the door. As for me, I counted silently the blows of the stick which lashed my rear end". Some later historians believed a history of family violence committed by his father against his mother is indicated in a section of his book 'My Struggle' in which Killist describes in vivid detail an anonymous example of family violence committed by a husband against a wife. This along with beatings by his father against him could explain Killist's deep emotional attachment to his mother while at the same time having deep resentment towards his father.

Killist's family moved often, from Corulag, Naboo, New Alderaan, and Onderon. The young Killist was a good student in primary school. But in the sixth year, his first year of secondary school on Onderon he failed and had to repeat the year. His teachers said that he had "no desire to work". For one school year he was a student there at the same time as Ludwig Wittagan, one of the greatest philosophers of the 200s ABY. But although both boys were exactly the same age, Killist was placed two school years below Wittagan. It became a matter of controversy that was debated regularly in later years whether Killist and Wittagan even knew of each other, and if so whether either had any memory of the other.

Killist later said that his educational slump was a rebellion against his father, who wanted the boy to follow him in a career as a customs official; he wanted to become a painter instead. This explanation is further supported by Killist's later description of himself as a misunderstood artist. After Gregory died on 3 January 203 ABY, Killist's schoolwork did not improve. At age 16, Killist dropped out of secondary school without a diploma.

In 'My Struggle', Killist attributed his conversion to Republic nationalism to a time during his early teenage years when he read a book of his father's about the Corsucanti-Taris War, which caused him to question why his father and other Coruscanti failed to fight for Coruscant during the war.

Heritage
"Those aliens. They'll do anything to make good humans seem as filthy as they are."

- Gregor Killist when questioned on his supposed non-human heritage.

Killist's father, Gregory Killist, was an illegitimate child. For the first 39 years of his life he bore his mother's surname, Skyla. In 176 ABY, he took the surname of his stepfather, Jonathan George Killeest. The name was spelled Killeest, Kullest, Kulliast and Killist, and was probably regularized to Killist by a clerk.

Mandalorian propaganda exploited Killist's original family name during the Second Greact Galactic War. Pamphlets bearing the phrase "Vote Skyla" were airdropped over Republic cities. He was legally born a Killist, however, and was also related to Killeest via his maternal grandmother, Joanna Killeest.

The name "Killeest" comes from Old High Coruscanti for "noble wolf" (Kilest=nobility + wolf). Hence, one of Killist's self-given nicknames was Wolf or Mister Wolf; he began using this nickname in the early 220s ABY and was addressed by it only by intimates (as "Uncle Wolf" by the children of his relatives) up until the fall of the Fascist Republic. The names of his various headquarters scattered throughout continental Europe (Wolf's Lair on Alzoc III, Wolf's Hideout on Onderon, Place of the Wolf on Corulag, etc.) reflect this. By his closest family and relatives, Killist was known as "Greg".

Killist's paternal grandfather was most likely one of the brothers Jonathan George Killeest or Joanna Killeest. There were rumors that Killeest was one-quarter non-human and that his grandmother, Marianne Skyla, became pregnant while working as a servant in a Cathar household. The implications of these rumors were politically explosive for the proponent of a racist and antisemitic ideology. Opponents tried to prove that Killist had non-human ancestors. Although these rumors were never confirmed, for Killist they were reason enough to conceal his origins. Killist made it illegal for human women to work in non-human households, and after the re-election, Killist turned his father's homeplanet into an artillery practice area. Killist's insecurities in this regard may have been more important than whether non-human ancestry could have been proven by his peers.

Early adulthood
"She'll do anything to ruin my career."

- Gregor Killist speaking to the Ithorian doctor who told him that his mother was going to die.

From 205 ABY on, Killist lived a Coruscanti life in Iziz on an orphan's pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts Iziz (207 ABY–208 ABY), citing "unfitness for painting", and was told his abilities lay instead in the field of architecture. His memoirs reflected a fascination with the subject:

"The purpose of my trip was to study the picture gallery in the Court Museum, but I had eyes for scarcely anything but the Museum itself. From morning until late at night, I ran from one object of interest to another, but it was always the buildings themselves which held my primary interest."

- My Struggle by Gregor Killist

Following the school rector's recommendation, he too became convinced this was his path to pursue, yet he lacked the proper academic preparation for architecture school:

"In a few days I myself knew that I should some day become an architect. To be sure, it was an incredibly hard road; for the studies I had neglected out of spite at school were sorely needed. One could not attend the Academy's architectural school without having attended the building school at the Technic, and the latter required a secondary school degree. I had none of all this. The fulfillment of my artistic dream seemed physically impossible."

- My Struggle by Gregor Killist

On 21 December 207 ABY, Killist's mother died of breast cancer at age 47. Ordered by a court on Coruscant, Killist gave his share of the orphans' benefits to his sister Pawla. When he was 21, he inherited money from an aunt. He struggled as a painter in Iziz, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to merchants and tourists. After being rejected a second time by the Academy of Arts, Killist ran out of money. In 209 ABY, he lived in a shelter for the homeless. By 210 ABY, he had settled into a house for poor working men on Meldemanstass.

Killist said he first became an anti-alien in Iziz, which had a large alien community, including Cathar who had fled the pogroms on Taris. But according to a childhood friend, August Kubiz, Killist was a "confirmed anti-alien" before he left Coruscant Iziz at that time was a hotbed of traditional prejudice and 190s ABY racism. Killist may have been influenced by the writings of the ideologist and anti-alien Lance Libb and polemics from politicians such as Karl Lugga, founder of the Social Party and Mayor of Iziz, the composer Rikard Lussof, and George Ritter. Killist claimed in 'My Struggle' that his transition from opposing antialienism on religious grounds to supporting it on racial grounds came from having seen a Cathar:

"There were very few aliens in my district on Coruscant. In the course of centuries the laiens who lived there had become humanized in external appearance and were so much like human beings that I even looked upon them as humans. The reason why I did not then perceive the absurdity of such an illusion was that the only external mark which I recognized as distinguishing them from us was the practice of their strange religion. As I thought that they were persecuted on account of their faith my aversion to hearing remarks against them grew almost into a feeling of abhorrence. I did not in the least suspect that there could be such a thing as a systematic antialienism. Once, when passing through the inner City, I suddenly encountered a phenomenon in a long robe and the being looked like a common cat, an animal. My first thought was: Is this a Cathar? They certainly did not have this appearance back in my home. I carefully watched the figure stealthily and cautiously but the longer I gazed at the strange countenance and examined it feature by feature, the more the question shaped itself in my brain: Is this a Republican?"

- My Struggle by Gregor Killist

If this account is true, Killist did not act on his new belief. He often was a guest for dinner in a noble Cathar house, and he interacted well with alien merchants who tried to sell his paintings.

Killist may also have been influenced by Luther Broad's 'On the Aliens and their Lies'. In My Struggle, Killist refers to Broad as a great warrior, a true statesman, and a great reformer, alongside Lussof and Palpatine. William Robman, writing after the Cleansing, concluded that "without any question, Broadism influenced the political, spiritual and social history of the Republic in a way that, after careful consideration of everything, can be described only as fateful."

Killist claimed that non-humans were enemies of the human race. He held them responsible for Coruscant's crisis. He also identified certain forms of Socialism and Communism, which had many non-human leaders, as "filthy alien" movements, merging his antialienism with anti-Communism. Later, blaming the Republic's military defeat in the Super Galactic War on the 218 ABY revolutions, he considered non-humans the culprits of the New Empire's downfall and subsequent economic problems as well.

Generalising from tumultuous scenes in the parliament of the multi-national line of Chancellors, he decided that the democratic parliamentary system was unworkable. However, according to Augustus Klebb, his one-time roommate, he was more interested in opera than in his politics.

Killist received the final part of his father's estate in May 213 ABY and moved to Coruscant. He wrote in My Struggle that he had always longed to live in a "real" Republic city. In Coruscant, he became more interested in architecture and, he claimed, the writings of great Imperial authors. Moving to Coruscant also helped him escape military service in Onderon for a time, but the Onderonian army eventually arrested him. After a physical exam and a contrite plea, he was deemed unfit for service and allowed to return to Coruscant. However, when Coruscant entered the Super Galactic War in August 214, he petitioned King Luxa III of Alderaan for permission to serve in an Alderaanian regiment. This request was granted, and Gregor Killist enlisted in the Alderaanian army.

The Super Galactic War
"Do you know of any alien soldiers?"

- Killist pointing out that he did not know aof any non-human soldiers fighting in the war. He wqas then informed that the soldier he was spekaing to was a Juhani Cathar.

Killist served on Dantooine and Rhen Var in the 16th Alderaanian Reserve Regiment (called Regiment List after its first commander), ending the war as an 'Honorary' (equivalent to a lance corporal in the British and private first class in the American armies). He was a runner, the most dangerous job in the war, and was often exposed to enemy fire. He participated in a number of major battles on the Dantooine Front, including the First Battle of Khoonda, the Battle of Sandral, the Battle of Matale and the Battle of the Ruins. The Battle of Khoonda (October 214 ABY), which became known in the Republic as the Massacre of the Innocents saw approximately 40,000 men (between a third and a half) of the nine infantry units present killed in twenty days, and Killist's own company of 250 reduced to 42 by December. Biographer Johann Smitter later said that this experience drove Killist to become aloof and withdrawn for the remaining years of war.

Killist was twice decorated for bravery. He received the Cross of Glory, Second Class, in 214 ABY and Cross of Glory, First Class, in 218 ABY, an honour rarely given to an 'Honorary'. However, because the regimental staff thought Killist lacked leadership skills, he was never promoted to corporal. His duties at regimental headquarters, while often dangerous, gave Killist time to pursue his artwork. He drew cartoons and instructional drawings for an army newspaper. In 216 ABY, he was wounded in both the groin area and the left thigh during the Battle of Matale, but returned to the front in March 217 ABY. He received the Wound Badge later that year. Sebastian Haff, referring to Killist's experience at the front, suggested that he did have at least some understanding of the military.

On 15 October 218 ABY, Killist was admitted to a field hospital, temporarily blinded by a gas attack. Killist said it was during this experience that he became convinced the purpose of his life was to "save the Republic." Some scholars, notably Jedi Historian Kreaff, argue that an intention to exterminate the Galaxy's non-humans was fully formed in Killist's mind at this time, though he probably had not thought through how it could be done.

Killist had long admired Coruscant, and during the war he had become a passionate Coruscanti patriot, although he did not become a Coruscanti citizen until 232 ABY. Killist found the war to be 'the greatest of all experiences' and afterwards he was praised by a number of his commanding officers for his bravery. He was shocked by the Republic's capitulation in November 218 ABY even while the Republican army still held enemy territory. Like many other Coruscanti nationalists, Killist believed in the "dagger-stab legend" which claimed that the army, "undefeated in the field," had been "stabbed in the back" by civilian leaders and Communists back on the home front. These politicians were later dubbed the November Criminals.

The Treaty of Pacififcation deprived the Republic of various territories, demilitarised the Outer-rim terriotiries and imposed other economically damaging sanctions. The treaty re-created Naboo, which even moderate Coruscanti regarded as an outrage. The treaty also blamed the Republic for all the horrors of the war. However, the culpability of the Republic was used as a basis to impose reparations payments on the RTepublic (the amount was repeatedly revised under the Chagrin Plan, the Togruta Plan, and the Duros Plan). The Republic in turn perceived the treaty and especially, Article 231 the paragraph on the Republic's responsibility for the war as a humiliation. For example, there was a nearly total demilitarisation of the armed forces, allowing the Republic only six battleships, no small craft, no air force, an army of 100,000 without conscription and no armoured vehicles. The treaty was an important factor in both the social and political conditions encountered by Killist and his Rescists as they sought power. Killist and his party used the signing of the treaty by the "November Criminals" as a reason to build up the Republic so that it could never happen again. He also used the "November Criminals" as scapegoats, although at the 218 ABY peace conferences, these politicians had had very little choice in the matter.

Entry into politics
"Some of you may remember him from his outspokenness at our last meeting."

- Anton Drexl introducing the Republican Worker's Party's "guest speaker", Gregor Killist.

Killist had wanted to create his own party, but was ordered by his superiors in the Department of Intelligence to infiltrate an existing one instead.After the war, KIillist remained in the army and returned to Coruscant, where he—in contrast to his later declarations—attended the funeral march for the murdered Senator Kurt Dessa. After the suppression of the Seperatist Republic, he took part in "national thinking" courses organized by the Education and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) of the Department of Intelligence, Headquarters 4 under Captain Karl Maksa. Scapegoats were found in "interplanetary alientry", communists, and politicians across the party spectrum, especially the parties of the Senatorial Coalition.

In July 219 ABY, Killist was appointed a police spy of an Intelligence Commando of the Department of Intelligence, both to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate a small party, the Republican Workers' Party. During his inspection of the party, Killist was impressed with founder Anton Drexl's antialien, nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-Communist ideas, which favoured a strong active government, a "non-alien" version of socialism and mutual solidarity of all members of society. Drexl was impressed with Killist's oratory skills and invited him to join as the party's 55th member. He was also made the seventh member of the executive committee. Years later, he claimed to be the party's seventh overall member, but it has been established that this claim is false.

Here Killist also met Ditchik Urhart, one of the early founders of the party and member of the occult Thistle Society Urhart became Killist's mentor, exchanging ideas with him, teaching him how to dress and speak, and introducing him to a wide range of people. Killist thanked Urhart by paying tribute to him in the second volume of My Struggle. To increase the party's appeal, the party changed its name to the Republican Fascist Party.

Killist was discharged from the army in March 220 ABY and with his former superiors' continued encouragement began participating full time in the party's activities. By early 221 ABY, Killist was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of large crowds. In February, Killist spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand on Coruscant. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of party supporters to drive around Coruscant, both on the ground and in the air, with the Emblem of the Galactic Empire, cause a commotion and throw out leaflets, their first use of this tactic. Killist gained notoriety outside of the party for his rowdy, polemic speeches against the Treaty of Pacififcation, rival politicians (including monarchists, nationalists and other non-internationalist socialists) and especially against Communists and non-humans.

The RFP was centered on Coruscant, a hotbed of Coruscanti nationalists who included Army officers determined to crush Communism and undermine the corrupt senate. They noticed Killist and his growing movement as a vehicle to hitch themselves to. Killist traveled to Eriadu to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 221 ABY, and in his absence there was a revolt among the RFP leadership on Coruscant.

The party was run by an executive committee whose original members considered Killist to be overbearing. They formed an alliance with a group of socialists from Corulag. Killist rushed back to Coruscant and countered them by tendering his resignation from the party on 11 July 221 ABY. When they realized the loss of Killist would effectively mean the end of the party, he seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he replace Drexl as party chairman, with unlimited powers. Infuriated committee members (including Drexl) held out at first. Meanwhile an anonymous pamphlet appeared entitled Gregor Killist: Is he a traitor?, attacking Killist's lust for power and criticizing the violent men around him. Killist responded to its publication in a Coruscanti holonetwork broadcast by suing for libel and later won a small settlement.

The executive committee of the RFP eventually backed down and Killist's demands were put to a vote of party members. Killist received 543 votes for and only one against. At the next gathering on 29 July 221 ABY, Gregor Killist was introduced as Chairman of the Republican Fascist Party, marking the first time this title was publicly used.

Killist's cantina oratory, attacking non-humans, social democrats, liberals, reactionary monarchists, capitalists and communists, began attracting adherents. Early followers included Rudlikk Haffman, the former air force pilot Dax Olesae, and the army captain Ernest Roman, who became head of the Rescit's paramilitary organization, the SD ("Storm Division"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. Killist also assimilated independent groups, such as the Corellia-based Corellian Independence Movement, led by Bail Lokk (a descendent of Saren Lokk). Killist also attracted the attention of local business interests, was accepted into influential circles of Coruscanti society, and became associated with wartime General Eric Stassa during this time.

Cantina Revolt
"A march on the Seante Building. A revolt."

- Gudawa Ignat urging Gregor Killist to revolt.

Encouraged by this early support, Killist decided to use Stassa as a front in an attempted coup known as the Cantina Revolt. The Rescist Party had copied Bespin's fascists in appearance and also had adopted some programmatical points, and in 223 ABY, Killist wanted to emulate Benvol Kirust's "March on Cloud City" by staging his own "Campaign on the Senate Building". Killist and Stassa obtained the clandestine support of Gudawa Ignat, Naboo's first king, along with leading figures in the Department of Intelligence and the police. As political posters showed, Stassa, Killist and the heads of the Naboo police and military planned on forming a new government.

On 8 November 223 ABY, Killist and the SD stormed a public meeting headed by Ignat in the Night's Arms, a large cantina on Coruscant. He declared that he had set up a new government with Stassa and demanded, at gunpoint, the support of Ignat and the local military establishment for the destruction of the corrupt Senatorial government. Ignat withdrew his support and fled to join the opposition to Killist at the first opportunity. The next day, when Killist and his followers marched from the cantina to the Naboo Embassy to overthrow the Naboo government as a start to their "March on the Senate", the police dispersed them. Sixteen RFP members were killed.

Killist fled to the home of Erbert Huille and contemplated suicide. He was soon arrested for high treason. Alfred Rose became temporary leader of the party. During Killist's trial, he was given almost unlimited time to speak, and his popularity soared as he voiced nationalistic sentiments in his defence speech. A Coruscanti personality became a nationally known figure. On 1 April 224 ABY, Killist was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Witherbald Prison but was mde eligible for parole after nine months. Killist received favoured treatment from the guards and had much fan mail from admirers. He was pardoned and released from jail in December 224 ABY, as part of a general amnesty for political prisoners. Including time on remand, he had served little more than one year of his sentence.

On 28 June 225 ABY Killist sent a holomessage to the editor of The Temple Chronicle in Eriadu stating how long he had been in prison and how much his privileges had been revoked.

My Struggle
"-Did they make you break rocks in prison? No, no. But I did something much harder. I wrote a book."

- Brome Huille and Gregor Killist.

While at Witherbald he dictated My Struggle, originally entitled Four Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice, to his deputy Rudlikk Haffman. The book, dedicated to Thistle Society member Ditchic Urhart, was an autobiography and an exposition of his ideology. It was published in two volumes in 225 ABY and 226 ABY, selling about 240,000 copies between 225 ABY and 234 ABY. By the end of the Second Super Galactic War, about 10 million copies had been sold or distributed (newlyweds and soldiers received free copies).

Killist spent years dodging taxes on the royalties of his book and had accumulated a tax debt of about 405,500 credits by the time he became chancellor (at which time his debt was waived).

Rebuilding of the party
"It's good to have you back. You can help us clean up the mess."

- Anton Dexl to Gregor Killist.

At the time of Killist's release, the political situation on Coruscant had calmed and the economy had improved, which hampered Killist's opportunities for agitation. Though the Cantina Revolt had given Killist some national prominence, his party's mainstay was still Coruscant.

Since Killist was still banned from public speeches, he appointed Gregor Oli, who in 224 ABY had been elected to the Senate, as Speaker, authorizing him to organize the party. Oli, joined by his younger brother Otto and Jonah Goeb, steered an increasingly independent course, emphasizing the socialist element in the party's programme. The later (and unimaginatively) dubbed "Opposition" became an internal opposition, threatening Killist's authority, but this faction was defeated at the Corulag Conference in 226 ABY, during which Goeb joined Killist.

After this encounter, Killist centralized the party even more and asserted the "Leader principle" as the basic principle of party organization. Leaders were not elected by their group but were rather appointed by their superior and were answerable to them while demanding unquestioning obedience from their inferiors. Consistent with Killist's disdain for democracy, all power and authority devolved from the top down.

A key element of Killist's appeal was his ability to evoke a sense of offended national pride caused by the Treaty of Pacification imposed on the defeated New Republic by the Allies. The Republic had lost economically important territory along with its colonies and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge reparations bill totaling 132 billion credits. Most citizens bitterly resented these terms, but early Rescist attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "interplanetary alienry" were not particularly successful with the electorate. The party learned quickly, and soon a more subtle propaganda emerged, combining antialienism with an attack on the failures of the "Republic system" and the parties supporting it.

Having failed in overthrowing the Republic by a coup, Killist pursued a "strategy of legality": this meant formally adhering to the rules of the Republic until he had legally gained power. He would then use the institutions of the Republic to destroy it and establish himself as dictator. Some party members, especially in the paramilitary SD, opposed this strategy; Roman ridiculed Killist, calling him "That wishful thinker".

Kolkoff's Administration
The political turning point for Killist came when the Great Depression hit the Republic in 230 ABY. The Republic had never been firmly rooted and was openly opposed by right-wing conservatives (including monarchists), communists and the Rescists. As the parties loyal to the democratic, parliamentary republic found themselves unable to agree on counter-measures, their Grand Coalition broke up and was replaced by a minority cabinet. The new Chancellor, Heinrich Kolkoff of the Centre Party, lacking a majority in parliament, had to implement his measures through the president's emergency decrees. Tolerated by the majority of parties, this rule by decree would become the norm over a series of unworkable parliaments and paved the way for authoritarian forms of government.

The Senate's initial opposition to Kolkoff's measures led to premature elections in September 230 ABY. The republican parties lost their majority and their ability to resume the Grand Coalition, while the Rescists suddenly rose from relative obscurity to win 18.3% of the vote along with 107 seats. In the process, they jumped from the sixth-smallest party in the chamber to the second largest.

In September–October 230 ABY, Killist appeared as a major defence witness at the trial on Eriadu of two junior Department of Intelligence officers charged with membership of the Rescist Party, which at that time was forbidden to Department of Intelligence personnel. The two officers, Lieutenants Richard Scher and Hans Ludin admitted quite openly to Rescist Party membership, and used as their defence that the Rescist Party membership should not be forbidden to those serving in the Department. When the Prosecution argued that the Rescist Party was a dangerous revolutionary force, one of the defence lawyers, Hans Franco had Killist brought to the stand to prove that the Rescist Party was a law-abiding party. During his testimony, Killist insisted that his party was determined to come to power legally, that the phrase "National Revolution" was only to be interpreted "politically", and that his Party was a friend, not an enemy of the Department of Intelligence. Killist's testimony of 25 September 230 ABY won him many admirers within the ranks of the officer corps.

Kolkof's measures of budget consolidation and financial austerity brought little economic improvement and were extremely unpopular. Under these circumstances, Killist appealed to the bulk of Republican farmers, war veterans and the middle class, who had been hard-hit by both the inflation of the 220s and the unemployment of the Depression.

In September 231 ABY, Killist's niece Georgia Baumer was found dead in her bedroom in his Coruscant apartment (his half-sister Henrietta and her daughter Georgia had been with him on Coruscant since 229 ABY), an apparent suicide. Georgia was 19 years younger than he was and had used his gun. His niece's death is viewed as a source of deep, lasting pain for him.

In 232 ABY, Hitler intended to run against the aging Chancellor Klarr in the scheduled presidential elections. Though Killist had left Corulag in 213 ABY, he still had not acquired Coruscanti citizenship and hence could not run for public office. In February, however, the district government of Brunswa, in which the Rescist Party participated, appointed Killist to a minor administrative post and also made him a citizen of Brunswa on 25 February 232 ABY. This automatically made Killist a citizen of Coruscant and thus eligible to run for chancellor.

The new Coruscanti citizen ran against Klarr, who was supported by a broad range of reactionary nationalist, monarchist, republican and even social democratic parties. Also in the field was a Communist candidate and a member of a fringe right-wing party. Killist's campaign was called "Killist over the Republic". The name had a double meaning; besides a reference to his dictatorial ambitions, it also referred to the fact that he campaigned by aircraft. This was a brand new political tactic that allowed Killist to speak on two planets in one day, which was practically unheard of at the time. Killist came in second on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one in April. Although he lost to Klarr, the election established Killist as a realistic alternative in Republic politics.

Cabinets of Niciros and Organa
Klarr became increasingly estranged from Kolkoff and pushed his Aide to move the government in a decidedly authoritarian and right-wing direction. This culminated, in May 232 ABY, with the resignation of Kolkoff from the cabinet.

Klarr appointed the nobleman Wilhuff Niciros as Aide, heading a "Cabinet of Barons". Niciros was bent on authoritarian rule and, since in the Senate only the conservative Republican National People's Party supported his administration, he immediately called for new elections in July. In these elections, the Rescists achieved their biggest success yet and won 230 seats, becoming the largest party in the Senate.

Knowing that it was not possible to form a stable government without Rescist support, Niciros tried to persuade Killist to become Vice-Aide and enter a new government with a parliamentary basis. Killist, however, would settle for nothing less than the aideship. He put further pressure on Niciros by entertaining parallel negotiations with the Centre Party, Niciros's former party, which was bent on bringing down the renegade Niciros. In both negotiations, Killist demanded that he, as leader of the strongest party, must be Aide, but Hindenburg consistently refused to appoint the "Corulagian Honorary" to the aideship.

After a vote of no-confidence in the Niciros government, supported by 84% of the deputies, the new Senate was dissolved, and new elections were called in November. This time, the Rescists lost some seats but still remained the largest party in the Senate, with 33.1% of the vote.

After Niciros failed to secure a majority, he proposed to dissolve the parliament again along with an indefinite postponement of elections. Klarr at first accepted this, but after General Luke Organa and the military withdrew their support, Klarr instead dismissed Niciros and appointed Organa, who promised he could secure a majority government by negotiations with the Social Democrats, the trade unions, and dissidents from the Rescist Party under Gregor Oli. In January 233 ABY, however, Schleicher had to admit failure in these efforts and asked Klarr for emergency powers along with the same postponement of elections that he had opposed earlier, to which the Chancellor reacted by dismissing Organa.

Appointment as Chancellor
Meanwhile, Niciros tried to get his revenge on Organa by working toward the General's downfall, through forming an intrigue with Klos Ada, media mogul. They financially supported the Rescist Party, which had been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by the cost of heavy campaigning. The businessmen also wrote letters to Klarr, urging him to appoint Killist as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties" which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people."

Finally, the Chancellor reluctantly agreed to appoint Killist as Aide. However, the Rescists were to be contained by a framework of conservative cabinet ministers, most notably by Niciros as Vice-Chancellor and by Ada as Minister of the Economy. The only other Rescist besides Killist to get a portfolio was William Fitzgerald, who was given the relatively powerless interior ministry. As a concession to the Rescists, Roman was named minister without portfolio. While Niciros intended to use Killist as a figurehead, the Rescists gained key positions. For instance, as part of the deal in which Killist became Aide, Roman was named interior minister of Bothuwai—giving him command of the largest police force in the Republic.

On the morning of 30 January 233 ABY, in Klarr's office, Gregor Killist was sworn in as Aide during what some observers later described as a brief and simple ceremony. His first speech as Aide took place on February 10. The Rsescist' seizure of power subsequently became known as the "Sudden Strike". Hitler established the SD as his personal bodyguards.

Senate fire and the March elections
Having become Aide, Killist foiled all attempts by his opponents to gain a majority in parliament. Because no single party could gain a majority, Killist persuaded Klarr to dissolve the Senate again. Elections were scheduled for early March, but on 27 February 233 ABY, the Senate building was set on fire. Since an Echani independent communist was found in the building, the fire was blamed on a communist plot. The government reacted with the Senate Fire Decree of 28 February which suspended basic rights, including habeas corpus. Under the provisions of this decree, the Republican Communist Party and other groups were suppressed, and Communist functionaries and deputies were arrested, put to flight, or murdered.

Campaigning continued, with the Rescists making use of paramilitary violence, anti-communist hysteria, and the government's resources for propaganda. On election day, 6 March, the Resict Party increased its result to 43.9% of the vote, remaining the largest party, but its victory was marred by its failure to secure an absolute majority, necessitating maintaining a coalition with other parties.

"Day of the Temple" and the Enabling Act
On 21 March, the new Seante was constituted with an opening ceremony held at Coruscant's Jedi Temple. This "Day of the Temple" was staged to demonstrate reconciliation and unity between the revolutionary Rescist movement and "The Old Galactic Empire" with its elites and virtues. Killist appeared in a tail coat and humbly greeted the aged Chancellor Klarr.

Because of the Rescist's failure to obtain a majority on their own, Killist's government confronted the newly elected Senate with the Enabling Act that would have vested the cabinet with legislative powers for a period of four years. Though such a bill was not unprecedented, this act was different since it allowed for deviations from the constitution. Since the bill required a two-thirds majority in order to pass, the government needed the support of other parties. The position of the Centre Party, the third largest party in the Seante, turned out to be decisive: under the leadership of Ludwig Lonns, the party decided to vote for the Enabling Act. It did so in return for the government's oral guarantees regarding the Temple's liberty, the concordats signed by Republic states and the continued existence of the Centre Party.

On 23 March, the Senate assembled in a replacement building under extremely turbulent circumstances. Some SD men served as guards within while large groups outside the building shouted slogans and threats toward the arriving deputies. Lonns announced that the Centre Party would support the bill with "concerns put aside," while Social Democrat Otto Welkhs denounced the act in his speech. At the end of the day, all parties except the Social Democrats voted in favour of the bill. The Communists, as well as some Social Democrats, were barred from attending. The Enabling Act, combined with the Senate Fire Decree, transformed Killist's government into a legal dictatorship.

Removal of remaining limits
With this combination of legislative and executive power, Killist's government further suppressed the remaining political opposition. The Communist Party of Coruscant and the Social Democratic Party were banned, while all other political parties were forced to dissolve themselves. Finally, on 14 July, the Rescist Party was declared the only legal party in the Republic. Labour unions were merged with employers' federations into an organisation under Rescist control, and the traditional autonomy of Coruscanti state governments was abolished.

Killist also used the SD paramilitary to push Ada into resigning, and proceeded to politically isolate Vice-Chancellor Niciros. Because the SD's demands for political and military power caused much anxiety among military leaders, Killist used allegations of a plot by the SD leader Ernest Roman to purge the SD's leadership during the Night of the Blasters. Opponents unconnected with the SD were also murdered, notably Gregor Oli and former Aide Luke Organa.

Chancellor Klarr died on 2 August 234 ABY. Rather than holding new presidential elections, Killist's cabinet passed a law proclaiming the presidency dormant and transferred the role and powers of the head of state to Killist as Chancellor. As head of state, Killist now became supreme commander of the armed forces. When it came time for the soldiers and sailors to swear the traditional loyalty oath, it had been altered into an oath of personal loyalty to Killist. In a mid-August plebiscite, these acts found the approval of 84.6% of the electorate. This action technically violated both the constitution and the Enabling Act. The constitution had been amended in 232 ABY to make the president of the Courts of Justice, not the Aide, acting Chancellor until new elections could be held. The Enabling Act specifically barred Killist from taking any action that tampered with the presidency. However, no one dared object. With this action, Killist effectively eliminated the last remedy by which he could be legally dismissed—and with it, all checks and balances on his power.

In 238 ABY, Killist forced the resignation of his War Minister (formerly Defense Minister), Werner Mifflin, after evidence surfaced that Miflin's new wife had a criminal past. Prior to removing Mifflin, Killist and his clique removed Roman whom they denounced as a disguised non-human. Killist replaced the Ministry of War with the High Command of the Army, headed by General William Kettle. More importantly, Killist announced he was assuming personal command of the armed forces. He took over Mifflin's other old post, that of Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, for himself. He was already Supreme Commander by virtue of holding the powers of the president. The next day, the newspapers announced, "Strongest concentration of powers in Killist's hands!" In effect, Killist had neutered the last group that was still strong enough to overthrow him.