Yarua

<Yarua

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Yarua

Biographical information

Homeworld

Kashyyyk^[1]

Descriptive information

Species

Wookiee^[1]

Gender

Male^[1]

Pronouns

He/him^[1]

Hair color

Brown/gray

Eye color

Brown

Chronological & political information

Affiliation(s)

Galactic Republic^[1]
- Galactic Senate^[1]

"Ruuarraararagh!"

―Yarua to Tikkes^[2]

Yarua was amale Wookiee elderstatesman whorepresented Mytaranor sector in theGalactic Senate during the waningyears of theGalactic Republic. Yaruadelegation was assisted by two Wookiee aides and, at the end of his career, Yarua had at least 100 years in his senatorial place. Following theClone Wars, Yarua was arrested and removed by theGalactic Empire.

Biography[]

Senator Yarua with his colleague Palpatine during the waning years of the Old Republic.

Amale member of theWookiee species, Yarua originated from the arborealKashyyyk, aplanet of theMytaranor sector. In his youngeryears, Yarua only wished to work in the family business and prepare for taking its leadership in due time. But events went out of control: at the age of 120, Yarua was forced to take the mantle of patriarch when his father died in an accident. The Wookiee took his new role with profound importance, learning to deal with conflicts by using diplomacy rather than brute force. He emerged as a capablediplomat, and theelders of his community came to admire him. Around119 BBY, when the Wookieesenator who represented his people before theSenate of theGalactic Republic retired, the elders urged Yarua to succeed him. The young patriarch accepted the honor his peers did him and traveled toCoruscant,capital world of the Republic.^[1]

Yarua was one of the senators who supportedFinis Valorum's sanctions against theYinchorri in33 BBY.^[3] Later that year, Chancellor Valorum proposed the taxation of the until then free trade zones. SenatorPalpatine ofNaboo then suggested that a part of the collected money could be invested in the growth of planetary systems in the affected areas. Yarua and other Senators of the region, includingTendau Bendon andHorox Ryyder, cheerfully supported the idea.^[4]

Before theClone Wars, several peace negotiation meetings between theWookiees and theTrandoshans took place onHsskhor, but none reached profitable results. Senator Yarua and TrandoshanSpeaker-Above-All Hadocrassk met up with the diplomatJedi Oppo Rancisis, trying to find peace between the two cultures.^[5] Unfortunately, serious attacks from the Trandoshans against the Wookiees, including the destruction of a transport with 215 Wookiees, made it almost impossible. The negotiations finally stopped when it was learned that the Trandoshans had support from theTrade Federation, and finally declared themselves as Republican opponents.^[6] Yarua stayed on the Republic's side by hisKing's because of his natural sympathy for theJedi Order and the Republic itself.

Following theBattle of Kashyyyk, Yarua and the other members of theKashyyyk Senatorial Delegation were arrested and removed by theGalactic Empire, because Kashyyyk was actively aiding to hideJedi Knights.^[7]

Personality and traits[]

Yarua disagrees with his interpreter droid.

Despite his attachment to diplomacy,^[1] Yarua still had the fiery temper of most Wookiees, and he would sometimes give way to anger. When he withdrew his delegation from the negotiations with the Trandoshans in 22 BBY, Yarua destroyed the protocol droid translating the talks by pulling the interpreter's right arm out of its socket.^[6] Nonetheless, Senator Yarua possessed a firm sense of fairness and was known as a forceful champion of justice in the Senate. In the halls of the Senate Rotunda, his imposing stature and fierce attitude inspired reverent awe among his peers.^[8]

Yarua of Kashyyyk despised the rampant corruption around him, and he found representation of commercial power within the Senate scandalous.^[9] Although his fondest wish was to return to the peace and tranquillity of his homeworld, the Wookiee was bent on seeing his responsibilities through to the end. Throughout his career, Yarua was a enthusiastic supporter of the Republican reform movements,^[1] which he thought could be funded by a through taxation plan.^[10]

Behind the scenes[]

Yarua first appeared in the1999 movieStar Wars: Episode IThe Phantom Menace, the first installment of theStar Warsprequel trilogy, in which he was played byJohn Coppinger.

Because of the Italian Hasbro comic storyStar Wars: The Power of the Force requiring that they implement images from Hasbro's FlashBack Photos franchise into the story for marketing purposes, it gave the, albeit forced, first implication that Palpatine, back when he was a senator, initially had good relations to the Wookiees in spite of his Empire's speciesist policies. The implementation of this led to some confusion, which had been noted in theStar Wars Insider 96 articleStrangers Among Us, although the specific details were later supplied in both the storyJedi Council: Acts of War as well as in the 2001 political thrillerCloak of Deception.^[11]