The Star Wars saga is populated with a dazzling variety of classic movie characters of all sorts, from noble Jedi Knights to lovable scoundrels like Han Solo to tormented villains like Kylo Ren. Additionally, there is another vital category to consider: great leaders. Any army, faction, or interstellar nation in Star Wars will need a brilliant, visionary, charismatic leader to lead the way.
The expanded Star Wars universe features many notable leaders such as Empress Teta, Xim the Despot, and Naga Sadow, while the eleven canon Star Wars live-action movies also feature plenty of leaders, heroic and villainous alike, who can take command of any group and lead them to victory. Some are politicians, some are generals, and all are to be respected.
10 General Grievous Led The Confederate Droid Army, But Never Won The War
The devastating Clone Wars raged on for about three years, and in that time, both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems needed great leaders to claim victory and rule the galaxy. The Confederacy's droid army, in particular, had the eerie cyborg General Grievous as its leader.
Grievous never claimed his ultimate victory, but he did wage war against one of the Star Wars saga's strongest armies for three years and even threatened Coruscant itself, which certainly says something. He was ruthless, but not always that clever or resourceful, in 2005's Revenge of the Sith.
9 Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus Helped Lead The Confederacy
General Grievous wasn't the only one who led the Confederacy of Independent Systems. There was also the fallen Jedi Master Count Dooku, otherwise known as Darth Tyranus, who was a patient, methodical, and resourceful commander for his faction.
Count Dooku wasn't Star Wars' cleverest or boldest leader, but he definitely knew what he was doing. He gathered a variety of factions for the Confederacy's cause, including the Techno Union, Trade Federation, and Banking Clan, and combined their armies into a massive fighting force to take on the Republic.
8 Grand Moff Tarkin Is Smart But Too Brutal
Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, portrayed by the late Peter Cushing, was a high-ranking Imperial officer who showed no mercy to either his friends or his foes. Growing up, he learned that might makes right, and ruthless survival means everything. He has the mind of an apex predator.
That, combined with his sharp intelligence, made him a highly effective leader, but he actually took things too far. Brutal tyrants like him struggle to keep the masses in line, since their cruel ways cause people and planets to slip through their fingers no matter how tight their fist might be.
7 Padme Amidala Is A Queen & Senator
Even if she died heartbroken and miserable, Padme Amidala lived a remarkable life, and she proved why the people of Naboo chose her as their leader. As a teenage girl, she ruled an entire planet with a firm but fair hand, and the people looked up to her. No ordinary adolescent could do that.
Padme also helped lead her faction to victory against the Trade Federation's invading army later in 1999's The Phantom Menace, making resourceful use of some captured starfighter pilots, the surprise Gungan army, some secret passageways, and more. Nute Gunray never saw her coming.
6 Admiral Ackbar Leads The Rebel & Resistance Fleets
The Mon Calamari people gladly joined the Rebel cause and provided a number of capital ships to the Alliance, a much-needed boost to the Alliance's firepower. But the Mon Cal people provided more than ships; they also provided exemplary leaders like the famous Admiral Ackbar.
Ackbar is widely quoted for exclaiming "It's a trap!", but he did more than that. He bravely and smartly led the Rebel Alliance fleet against terrifying odds against the second Death Star, and decades later, he gave his life to help the Resistance fleet escape the wrath of Snoke's enormous flagship, the Supremacy.
5 Admiral Raddus Is The New Ackbar
Ackbar isn't the only Mon Cal to lead the Rebel Alliance to victory against the fearsome Imperial Navy. In 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Admiral Raddus led the reckless but victorious assault on the Imperial world of Scarif, determined to help Jyn Erso's group complete their mission.
Leading any fleet against the Imperial Navy, and surviving, always calls for a great leader. And Raddus is that leader. He also had a clever idea, ramming his own ship into an Imperial star destroyer to damage another star destroyer and wreck Scarif's orbital facility. Not even Ackbar thought of that one.
4 Darth Vader Helps Run The Empire's Military
The iconic movie villain Darth Vader is known for many things, from his ace piloting skills in his TIE Advanced to his heavy breathing and his imposing black suit. On top of all that, Vader is also a highly capable leader within the Imperial military, and Emperor Palpatine relies on him heavily.
Vader was often sent to hunt down and assassinate Order 66 survivors, but he also led Imperial armies and task forces to capture rebellious planets, too. He always led his forces to victory, and he also had the tactical skills to finally track down and capture Han in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back.
3 General Leia Organa Solo Helped The Rebellion & Resistance Survive
Princess Leia Organa Solo, later a general, is one of only a few characters, along with Ackbar, who fought for both the Rebel Alliance and the Resistance. She helped lead the Rebel ground team on Endor, for example, then helped rally the galaxy when the First Order muscled in.
Leia was a general by then, and she and her good friend Admiral Holdo both fought tooth and nail to fight off the powerful First Order and help keep hope alive. That called for some truly great leadership, and she even served as Rey's second Jedi mentor, taking over from her late brother Luke.
2 General Maximilian Veers Is The Master Of War
General Maximilian Veers only made a few minor appearances in The Empire Strikes Back, but the larger Star Wars universe makes it clear that this Imperial officer is the real deal. He is a smart, tactically brilliant, and hardworking general who can lay the groundwork for victory on any battlefield across the galaxy.
With Veers leading the Empire's ground forces on the icy world of Hoth, it was only a matter of time until the Rebel base was lost. And sure enough, the Rebels didn't last long against Veers' leadership, though many Rebels did escape into space thanks to their ion cannon emplacement.
1 Emperor Palpatine Carefully Plotted His Rise To Power
Darth Sidious, later known to the public as Emperor Palpatine, is Star Wars' most powerful and accomplished leader for all the wrong reasons. Sheev Palpatine was born into Naboo nobility, but that wasn't enough for him. He became a Sith Lord under Darth Plagueis, then gathered allies to rise to the top.
Palpatine spent many years giving orders to countless minions and agents across the galaxy, and for three years, he led both the Republic and the CIS without giving himself away. Then he became the galaxy's first-ever Emperor for over 20 years, pacifying thousands of worlds until he was finally defeated. The galaxy had never experienced, or suffered from, such a leader before.