Princess Leia's position

[Lord Sander]

Princess Leia was high ranking member of the Rebel Alliance, but in what capacity did she serve post-ANH/pre-Bakura?
So far all I've come across are the things she wasn't;
She was not a councillor on the Advisory Council, although the position was offered to her.
She was not a member of the Cabinet.
She was not an officer in the Alliance military, although she is seen wearing a uniform in ROTJ.
She was not a member of the Diplomatic Corps. Although she occasionally seemed to function as a diplomat, it would seem unlikely they needed a diplomat on Hoth.
She was not the Chief Executive of Alderaan Sector Allied Command, as one would expect her to've be more involved with operations there if she were.
So where does that leave her?

[Ace Pace]

Pin-up!

[Isolder74]

well we see in The Courtship of Princess Leia, that she seemed to have been serving in an ambassadorial or recruiting role helping add to the ranks of members of the New Republic. She was also a member of the Alderaanian council and served in a high, but not head position, in that council.

[Lord Revan]

it's also possible that she serve as a figurehead for the Arderaani faction in the Alliance/NR as she was the only surviving member of the ruling family

[Tanasinn]

It's always seemed to me she was the Rebellion's media darling, particularly after Alderaan met a superlasery end. Of course, as a legitimate politician of a deceased planet, it's pretty obvious she had more say and influence than if she had actually been just some vapid celebrity.

[Lord Pounder]

She had a lot of diplomatic training as indicated by her work in bringing the Hapes Consortium to an accord with the NR, then later in the Thrawn Trilogy she seems to be the person Mon Mothma trusts most to sent out to perspective joiners. Mon Mothma also mentions in the Thrawn Trilogy that she (Leia) is one of few trained diplomats the the early NR has.

[Publius]

The Princess Leia of Alderaan's position in the rebel Alliance is quite obviously that of head of the Alderaani Allied Command. In the first place, she is both the heiress of the Royal Family and the senior ranking government official of the Republic of Alderaan after 35 rS. The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook states that the Advisory Council is "comprised of representatives of the seven Allied governments 'who have given the most lives in the battle against the Emperor,' and that "by rights, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan should be a member of the Council" but that she has declined to accept a seat. She is clearly not a member of the Corellian Treaty Organization itself, but rather the senior representative of one of the affiliated Allies.

The objection that she does not take a more active role in operations in the Alderaan Sector is not a valid one. In the first place, the Alderaani faction of the Alliance is not a Sector Command, which the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook specifies only exists in "those areas of space in which there are no Allies" -- that is to say, Sector Commands are tied to particular astrographical regions, but Allies are not. Alderaan was a founding member of the Corellian Treaty Organization (as it were), and is obviously an Ally. Its forces within the CTO are free to operate wherever they see fit, subject to the CTO's strategic guidance.

Furthermore, the rebel Alliance is quite simply not a significant presence in the Core Worlds Region. Arhul Hextrophon bluntly states that "within the Core systems, the Alliance has no allies; in fact, it has few political connections at all," and that given this lack of presence and sympathy, "Imperial propagandists have been most effective at portraying the Alliance as a terrorist group." This is an extremely hostile environment in which to operate, and the lack of rebel activity in the Core effectively argues against any of the Allies conducting operations there (given the lack of Alderaan as a base, the Alderaani faction obviously had no logistical ability to operate in its home Sector). The psychological impact of the (former HIMS) Far Orbit was due to precisely this lack of rebel activity in the civilized heart of the Empire.

Incidentally, the uniform she wears in Return of the Jedi has been identified in the Power of the Force line of action figures as being that of a general. It is not especially surprising that she should hold military rank; she is, after all, a member of the Royal Family. Cf. the Royal Family of the United Kingdom, which has a well-established tradition of military/naval service. For example, the Prince of Wales is an admiral, general, and air chief marshal; his brother the Duke of York is a post captain (albeit by honorary promotion), and both Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales are graduates of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and are active-duty subalterns in the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons).

[Lord Sander]

I'm inclined to agree with all your points pertaining to the Princess, thanks for clearing that up.

However;

The objection that she does not take a more active role in operations in the Alderaan Sector is not a valid one. In the first place, the Alderaani faction of the Alliance is not a Sector Command, which the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook specifies only exists in "those areas of space in which there are no Allies" -- that is to say, Sector Commands are tied to particular astrographical regions, but Allies are not.

This would appear to be incorrect. Sector Commands are assigned to those areas of space in which there are no Allies as you say, but they are also the military arms of Sector 'governments' (the Allied Commands).
Page 24 of the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Second Edition states:
"Despite the charter of the Alliance, which gives Mon Mothma - and, by her authority, the Alliance Command - near-dictatorial power over all Allied Commands and their military forces, SecCom rarely uses this power to interfere with the internal workings of a Sector Force."
It goes on to state that:
"SecCom is also responsible for organizing new Sector Force Commands on uncontrolled planets." . . . "until the natives are capable of running it on their own."
Page 31:
"Like their political opposites, the Allied Commands, Sector Forces are created out of whatever resistance organization is in place . . ."
Page 127:
"Sector command bases are usually under the control of the chief executive of the sector. This is the highest-ranking civilian official in the sector" and it goes on to summarize the same governmental structure as the 'typical' Allied Commands as described on page 16.

Incidentally, the uniform she wears in Return of the Jedi has been identified in the Power of the Force line of action figures as being that of a general. It is not especially surprising that she should hold military rank; she is, after all, a member of the Royal Family. Cf. the Royal Family of the United Kingdom, which has a well-established tradition of military/naval service. For example, the Prince of Wales is an admiral, general, and air chief marshal; his brother the Duke of York is a post captain (albeit by honorary promotion), and both Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales are graduates of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and are active-duty subalterns in the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons).

Indeed. Which coincidentally works out nicely because today I noticed Princess Leia in ROTJ wears a unique uniform with a different color scheme from the Fleet, Starfighter and SpecForces uniforms, which would indeed support her being of the Alderaani Allied Command.

[Knife]

Princess Leia was high ranking member of the Rebel Alliance, but in what capacity did she serve post-ANH/pre-Bakura?

Correct me if I'm wrong but the rebels were still rebels up to the liberation of Coruscant, what? five years after RotJ? So any role she took would still be inside the rebel alliance and/or it's shadow goverment.

Anyway, it's quite clear in the movies that she's her fathers right hand woman for the Aldreaanian rebel cell and after the destruction, the leader of Alderaan's cell inside the Alliance. What part she plays in the shadow goverment, I think Pub covered nicely. But for the most part, she seems to be a cell commander.

[Lord Sander]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the rebels were still rebels up to the liberation of Coruscant, what? five years after RotJ? So any role she took would still be inside the rebel alliance and/or it's shadow goverment.

A constitutional convention was held in the months following ROTJ that reformed the government. The Declaration of a New Republic was made a month after ROTJ. I specified this timeframe because her role could have changed because of these events.