Mon Mothma is among the characters in the Star Wars franchise that has managed to come out of the Expanded Universe and into the new canon as she was simply too important to ignore, unlike many other characters that were just as important if not more so. But anyway, the reason for her importance is that she was one of the main architects of the plans that would go into building the resistance that would see the rebels through the initial trilogy. She was also the person in charge since she’d been there when the Alliance started and knew far more than many on the high command and had a brilliant tactical mind as well as the kind of clout that was needed to be a leader. Mon might not have looked like much but when it came to political maneuvering and delivering bold, impassioned speeches she was one of the best.
Here are a few things you might not have known about her.
10. She’s from the planet Chandrila.
This was held over from the Legends canon but at the very least it was kept that her family had a long history of public service and so she was expected to go in the same direction. In the new canon however she briefly toyed with being a historian, but would eventually return to politics.
9. She was the youngest senator during the time of the Republic.
Mon joined when she was in her late teens and at that time was the youngest member of the senate. While this might have made her seem like one of the most naive she was still one of the most skilled when it came to diplomacy. She was always the type of character that seemed to have a strong affect on others when she spoke.
8. She was almost assassinated.
The assassination attempt was disguised by the Empire feigning the return of 100 prisoners they’d taken, but it was a trap. Each prisoner had been implanted with a chip and brainwashed to cause mayhem within the Republic, with one of them being ordered to kill Mon Mothma. Fortunately the wife of the prisoner showed up and stopped him from completing his mission.
7. She looked after Leia a lot.
At one point Leia was a bit hot-tempered, more so than she ever was in the movies, and required a lot of looking after when it came to her time in the senate. While she had a habit of speaking her mind she didn’t always think ahead of time and it took Mon a great deal of time to work with Leia and make her understand how politics worked.
6. She was a firm advocate for peace.
As much as she cared for those that gave their lives to the war Mon did her best to sue for peace. Her efforts nearly got her assassinated more than once and even made her a target among her fellow senators that wanted the war to continue on the grounds that it was profitable.
5. She was a founding member of the Alliance.
This has always been a known fact to those that bother to delve deeply into the story but it was made even more clear in the video game The Force Unleashed video game. The game goes into fairly good detail on how the Alliance was formed and how Vader’s secret apprentice helped it to happen.
4. She was Chief of State to the New Republic.
Her home world became the new capital of the New Republic and against her wishes she was granted emergency powers to help deal with the remnants of the Empire. She wanted badly to reduce the military might of the New Republic but was unable to do so as the Empire continued to attack on whatever front they could.
3. The leadership in the New Republic declined when she stepped down.
Mon Mothma was such a force to reckoned with when she was in office that few ever dared to oppose her openly despite her usually peaceful stance on just about anything. She could be fierce when she needed to be, but she was usually fairhanded and didn’t try to rouse envy or hatred in anyone. Unfortunately when she stepped down the leaders that followed were anything but as cultured as she was.
2. She passed away in her sleep.
In the Legends canon she passed away peacefully in her sleep after having attended the wedding of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker. She got to avoid the dreaded Yuuzhan Vong invasion.
1. She was very protective of the Rebellion.
Mon never gave up on the Rebellion and managed to put her two cents in wherever she could. If it had to do with resisting the Empire she was usually a part of whatever came along and was instrumental in doling out advice to those that needed it.
She was a powerful character but in the style of Star Wars she was a diplomat and it’s not too surprising that people don’t know that much about her.
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