Corporate Alliance

The leader of a collection of powerful galactic companies, Passel Argente was one of the chief backers of Count Dooku's Separatist movement, supplying funds, battle droids and warships for Dooku's cause.

The Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the Separatist Alliance, was a collection of star systems and corporate titans that left the Republic and fought for independence against the Republic’s clone armies and Jedi Knights. The charismatic former Jedi Count Dooku was the Alliance’s political leader, while its military power came from credits and assets donated by powerful galactic trade groups. No one suspected that the Alliance was actually a tool of Darth Sidious, who had engineered the Clone Wars as part of a Sith plot to rule the galaxy.

The Separatist Council was made up of the leaders of wealthy, influential galactic trade groups that backed Count Dooku’s Separatist Alliance, supporting it with warships, droid armies and a steady stream of credits. Its members included the Trade Federation’s Nute Gunray, the Corporate Alliance’s Passel Argente, the InterGalactic Banking Clan’s San Hill, the Commerce Guild’s Shu Mai, the Techno Union’s Wat Tambor, Poggle the Lesser of Geonosis, and Senators Po Nudo and Tikkes. At the end of the Clone Wars, Darth Vader executed the Council’s members on Mustafar.

Count Dooku was a menacing Sith Lord and central figure in the Clone Wars. Once a Jedi -- trained by Yoda -- he became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and thirsted for greater power. Dooku voluntarily left the light side behind and became Darth Sidious’ dark side disciple, taking the secret name Darth Tyranus and leading the Separatist army. Dooku advanced Sidious’s secret plot to take over the galaxy, but forgot that betrayal is the nature of the Sith.

The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural, and Sheev Palpatine is the most infamous follower of its doctrines. Scheming, powerful, and evil to the core, Darth Sidious restored the Sith and destroyed the Jedi Order. Living a double life, he was also Palpatine, a Naboo Senator and phantom menace. He manipulated the political system of the Galactic Republic until he was named Supreme Chancellor -- and eventually Emperor – and ruled the galaxy through fear and tyranny. The galaxy rejoiced when he died at the Battle of Endor, but Sidious had cheated death and patiently plotted a return to power.

A powerful galactic guild comprised of technology firms, the Techno Union was led by its lead engineer, Wat Tambor, during the final years of the Republic. The group helped create the battle-droid armies used by the Separatists, and Tambor pledged its loyalty to Count Dooku during the Separatist Crisis. Despite its Separatist ties, the Techno Union was represented in the Republic Senate, with Gume Saam speaking on its behalf. Tambor died on Mustafar at the end of the Clone Wars.