Agrippa Aldrete
Biographical information
Homeworld	Alderaan[1]
Physical description
Species	Human[1]
Gender	Male[1]
Hair color	Gray[1]
Eye color	Blue[1]
Skin color	Light[1]
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era[1]
Affiliation	Galactic Republic[1] Galactic Senate[1]

[Source]

Agrippa Aldrete was a Human male hailing from the peaceful planet of Alderaan. In the last decades of the Galactic Republic, Aldrete served as Senator of his sector in the Galactic Senate, under the reign of Queen Mazicia of Alderaan. Aldrete was succeeded by his compatriot Bail Antilles, to whom he eventually became a senatorial aide. By 32 BBY, Agrippa Aldrete was still serving in the Senate, and he witnessed the political turmoil that resulted from the invasion of the small planet Naboo by the Trade Federation.

BiographyEdit

Agrippa Aldrete was a male Human who came from Alderaan,^[1] a very old, pristine planet covered with green plains,^[2] in the waning decades of the Galactic Republic. Agrippa shared his surname with other Alderaanians of note, the noblewoman Alya Aldrete^[3] and the bureaucrat Celana Aldrete.^[4] Agrippa Aldrete came of age at seventeen, following the Alderaanian law.^[5] He built himself a career as a politician, ascending to the position of Senator, with the duty to represent Alderaan's sector in the Galactic Senate,^[1] That delegation held considerable power in the Senate Rotunda,^[6] since Alderaan was once part of the Tetrahedron, an ancient area that contained the founding worlds of the Republic.^[7]

During Aldrete's mandate, the reigning Queen of Alderaan was Mazicia Organa,^[8] mother to the future Viceroy and First Chairman Bail Organa.^[9] The Queen ordered the construction of the Star of Alderaan, a blockade runner CR90 corvette which was reserved for Senator Aldrete's use.^[8]

At some point before 33 BBY,^[10] Senator Aldrete stepped down from office, making way for his fellow Alderaanian Bail Antilles^[1]—who was a prince of blood on their planet.^[11] Former senator Aldrete eventually returned to the Senate as an aide to his successor,^[1] a position he shared with the female diplomat Liana Merian.^[12] In 32 BBY,^[13] Agrippa Aldrete was still a member of the Senate^[1] when the Trade Federation, a complex organization of trade officials and associated bureaucrats, invaded the remote world of Naboo. Following the crisis, the Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum was removed from office and replaced by Senator Palpatine of Naboo.^[14]

Personality and traitsEdit

Agrippa Aldrete was a light-skinned male Human with blue eyes and a slim build. At the time of the Naboo Crisis, he was an older gentleman sporting short gray hair, darker bushy eyebrows and a pointy goatee.^[15] Following a tradition of the Alderaanian ambassadorial community,^[16] he wore an all-white tunic parting down the middle, with a high collar and ornated with sober stripes of embroidered lozenges.^[15]

Behind the scenesEdit

Agrippa Aldrete was amongst the many characters that were ultimately cut from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which was released in May, 1999. He was portrayed by an unidentified actor and featured in a scene where Bail Organa—played by the Irish actor Adrian Dunbar—seconded the motion for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Valorum. Aldrete was present in Bail Organa's repulsorpod along with Liana Merian and another draped senator. The scene even featured a medium shot focused on Organa and Aldrete, with the Senator searching the eyes of his aide, waiting for his approval before standing up to support the motion. There was no dialogue, however, and Agrippa Aldrete only signaled his approval by a short bow.^[17]

Although that scene was ultimately excised from the final movie, Adrian Dunbar's likeness was later reused as Bail Antilles,^[18] and Agrippa Aldrete was referenced in various sources that brought him back into canon. Pictures of him appeared in the reference book Star Wars Episode I: The Visual Dictionary and in Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide, an interactive CD-ROM—both of which were put on the market the same year as the movie.^[19][15] In the video game adapation of the film, a character working at the Tourist Center on Coruscant resembled Aldrete, both in clothing and physical traits.^[20] Years later, in October 2006, an article from the Refresher Reading feature of the Star Wars Insider magazine established a link between Aldrete, Mazicia Organa and the Star of Alderaan. In the article, the character's name was misspelled as "Aggripe Aldrite."^[8]

In 2010, a character matching Aldrete's physical appearance and characteristic outfit appeared alongside Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and Padmé Amidala in Assassin, a third season episode of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.^[21] Two years later, the same character model was also used in the fourth season episode Crisis on Naboo, although with a different outfit. In that episode, the Aldrete lookalike attended Chancellor Palpatine's speech on the occasion of Naboo's annual Festival of Light.^[22]

In real-life, "Agrippa" was originally an old Latin name that was first used as a praenomen (a given name) and afterwards as a cognomen (an "additional" name, which distinguished branches of a clan from each other).^[23]

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Deleted scene)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Assassin" (Possible appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Crisis on Naboo" (Possible appearance)

SourcesEdit

• Star Wars Episode I: The Visual Dictionary
• Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary (Picture only)
• "Refresher Reading"—Star Wars Insider 90 (As "Aggripe Aldrite")
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 19 ("Agrippa Aldrete")
•  Agrippa Aldrete in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Liana Merian in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)

Notes and referencesEdit