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DISCLAIMER: I'm not much into the Extended Universe, so I'm not sure how much the EU says about Palpatine's status.

When I heard of the way the North Korean people worship their leader Kim Jong-il, I remembered that it was not unique for dictatorships to worship their leaders. It's after all, a practice that started back in the ancient world where the Roman emperors were worshipped as demi-gods, and Chinese and Japanese emperors were said to be the descendants of gods. The tradition continued somewhat in the Middle Ages in the form of kings who ruled by "divine right." (whatever that meant) Certain modern despots - most notably Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tsung and Joseph Stalin - used well-oiled propaganda machines to give themselves almost divine status. (although I'm not too sure about how much Mao did it)

So I'll ask you: How much of a personality cult is there around Emperor Palpatine?? Was he worshipped as a god??? Or was it limited to Imperial propagandists making ludicrous claims about him???

Or were there no personality-cult around the leader at all?

Simon H.Johansen wrote:DISCLAIMER: I'm not much into the Extended Universe, so I'm not sure how much the EU says about Palpatine's status.

When I heard of the way the North Korean people worship their leader Kim Jong-il, I remembered that it was not unique for dictatorships to worship their leaders. It's after all, a practice that started back in the ancient world where the Roman emperors were worshipped as demi-gods, and Chinese and Japanese emperors were said to be the descendants of gods. The tradition continued somewhat in the Middle Ages in the form of kings who ruled by "divine right." (whatever that meant) Certain modern despots - most notably Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tsung and Joseph Stalin - used well-oiled propaganda machines to give themselves almost divine status. (although I'm not too sure about how much Mao did it)

So I'll ask you: How much of a personality cult is there around Emperor Palpatine?? Was he worshipped as a god??? Or was it limited to Imperial propagandists making ludicrous claims about him???

Or were there no personality-cult around the leader at all?

I doubt there was anyone in the Empire worshipping Palpatine as a God (it may have come to that, however, had Palpatine fully established his Sith Imperium), just lots of propaganda.

The Emperor was genuinely beloved by the majority of the population, but there appears to be no cult of the leader about his person, per se (although Grand Admiral Il-Raz and Grand Moff Tharil Tavira both committed suicide after learning of his death at the Battle of Endor; others, like Director of Intelligence Ysanne Isard and the Royal Guards, remained in mourning for years).

In Return of the Jedi, Lord Vader reflects that

[t]ogether, they would corrupt the boy -- the child of the father. Great, dark glory. For soon, the old Emperor would die -- and though the galaxy would bend from the horror of that loss, Vader would remain to rule, with young Skywalker at his side. As it was always meant to be.

The recent article "Who's Who in Star Wars Galaxies", by Mr J. D. Wiker, in Star Wars Insider #65 (Paizo Publishing, LLC, February 2003) includes the following:

The most powerful -- and most evil -- man in the entire galaxy is Emperor Palpatine. Known to the citizens of the Galactic Empire as a frail, beloved old man, few know just how vile Palpatine truly is. The Emperor engineered not only the destruction of the Republic but also the annihilation of its protectors, the Jedi Knights. Since then, the Emperor has steadily tightened his grip on the worlds of the Empire, until most of the galaxy falls within his tyrannical rule. But the support of the ignorant masses is so unwavering that the Emperor can order the destruction of entire worlds and the execution of their populations -- and has done so, far too many times -- and then blame these tragedies on the Rebel Alliance.