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| Senatus Populusque Romulanus The Government and Culture of the Romulan Star Empire |
The Romulan Star Empire rivals the Cardassian Union for the title of most openly statist and authoritarian society in
Star Trek. It is a polity whose trappings of state are virtually the only thing known about it; there is little canonical
information about the Romulan people, or Romulan culture, except that the Romulans were originally Vulcanian
dissenters who rejected Surak’s ideology of logic, as revealed by Lieutenant Commander Spock in “Balance of
Terror” and that the Romulans practice infanticide to eliminate birth defects, as established by “The Enemy.”
Instead, the majority of the known information regarding the Star Empire deals with its government, which in
characteristically statist fashion dominates politics, state security, and war, rather than the other way around. The
Romulan state is highly ideological; it views the United Federation of Planets as being exploitative and short-sighted
according to “The Defector.” Admiral Alidar Jarok from “The Defector” and Senator Pardek, a 90-year member of
the Senate and advocate of peace and Vulcanian/Romulan reunification for decades as of 2368 in “Unification,” are
exceedingly rare in that they demonstrated genuine political nonconformity, although Pardek’s nonconformity was in
fact a political masquerade.
The supreme organ of the Romulan Star Empire is the Senate, a college of long-serving statesmen which holds its
sessions on the homeworld of Romulus, which was first mentioned in “Balance of Terror”; according to
“Unification,” the Senate does not sit on the third day of the week. There does not appear to be any fundamental
separation of executive and legislative power, and the Senate appears to exercise both, overseeing almost all facets of
the state directly or indirectly through one of its committees or subordinate councils. Indeed, the Senate itself appears
to act collegially as chief of state, although certainly some functions normally associated with a chief of state would
be performed by the presiding officer, the Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire, who is the highest ranking state
official in the Star Empire, although it is probably most accurate to say that he or she performs functions of a chief of
state; the Senate itself collectively appears to possess the powers of chieftaincy of state. It is probable that the
Praetor is the leader of the governing party within the Senate, although the ideological uniformity among most of the
Romulans suggests that parties are personality-based rather than formal political organizations. Proconsul Neral, who
first appeared in “Unification,” later appeared as Praetor as of 2375 in “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges,” while Praetor
Hiren was assassinated in 2379 in Nemesis; Praetor Shinzon of Remus, leader of the coup d’état that killed Hiren and
much of the Senate, commented in Nemesis that governments change often on Romulus, although the highly orderly
nature of Romulan politics suggests this refers more to a change in governing party rather than repeated coups. It is
noteworthy that two of the known assassinations of Romulan political figures are known or implied to be the work
of foreign powers.
The Continuing Committee, which first appeared in “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges,” seems to be roughly equivalent
to a politburo or Cabinet-type organization, essentially the principal executive organ of the state. The Committee is
shown to include eight members as of 2375 (this is not necessarily the Committee’s entire membership), is very
probably composed of the most powerful senators, including the Praetor, who chairs the Committee. Interestingly,
Chairman Koval, the head of the Romulan intelligence and state security service, the Tal Shiar, was not yet a member
of the Continuing Committee during the Dominion War; rather, he was in line for membership, which helps establish
that the Romulan state is not dominated by its secret police, whose head is a member of the Senate and not
necessarily a member of what is quite likely the presidium of the Senate, functioning perhaps along parliamentary
lines in its relationship to the Praetor and the Senate itself. The Praetor is confirmed in office by the Continuing
Committee, and it has the right to sit in judgment over senators accused of crimes. It is noteworthy that while the
Chairman of the Tal Shiar was not a member of the Continuing Committee, the Vice Chairman of the Tal Shiar,
Senator Vreenak as of 2374 in “In the Pale Moonlight,” was also Secretary of the War Plans Council and a trusted
advisor to Neral.
In addition to the Continuing Committee, senators can hold other positions alongside their membership in the Senate.
There is for example the proconsul, an office whose specific nature in the Romulan state remains unknown, but is
probably a high-ranking governor of an important province, or some other comparable function; Proconsul Merrok
was poisoned on Romulus at some point while Elim Garak was gardener at the Cardassian Embassy, according to
“Broken Link.” Vice Proconsul M’ret was a very distinguished and influential senator when he defected to the United
Federation in 2369 in “Face of the Enemy,” which further suggests that the position of proconsul must be rather
prestigious. Additionally, in 2375, Senator Nimara Cretak directly liaised with Allied representatives and
governments in “Image in the Sand,” performing functions that one would ordinarily expect of a member of the
Romulan commander’s staff or a diplomatic agent, such as the negotiation of the establishment of a military hospital
in the Bajor system. In “Tears of the Prophets,” Senator Letant is said to be a military consul and meets with United
Federation Captain Benjamin L. Sisko and Klingon General Martok regarding the proposed invasion of the Chin’toka
system; whereas one would expect the commanders of the Allied forces in the operation to meet with the Romulan
commander, they instead meet directly with a member of the Senate.
This of course leaves the question of how one enters the Senate. Seeing that the Senate is not simply a legislature –
the actual conduct of diplomatic, defense, and intelligence operations is generally understood to belong to the
executive power – is it reasonable to expect the Senate’s membership to be selected on a representational basis? The
obvious overtones of authoritarianism in the various appearances of the Romulans suggest otherwise. It seems clear
that the most powerful offices in the state are related to the Senate and its committees and councils; is it possible that
membership in the Senate is a dignity associated with certain high offices, rather than an office in and of itself?
Perhaps men such as M’ret, Merrok, and Neral were members of the Senate by virtue of their ranks as vice proconsul
or proconsul. This method, which is consistent with the original idea of a senate as a council of experienced, elder
statesmen (the word “senate” is derived from senatus, itself from the Latin word senex, “old man”), would easily
explain why the Romulan state was comfortable with leaving to senators responsibility for negotiation of non-
aggression pacts with foreign powers (Vreenak, “In the Pale Moonlight”), relations with the Allied governments and
militaries (Cretak, “Image in the Sand”) or conduct of operational planning (Letat, “Tears of the Prophets”): each
senator would have a background of management and administration, or else he or she would not be a senator in the
first place.
Furthermore, the use of senators to occupy the senior positions of leadership of the other organs of state guarantees
(in theory) the senate’s dominance of the Romulan state. The paramilitary Tal Shiar, which has been seen to control
substantial naval assets in such episodes as “The Die Is Cast” and “Message in a Bottle,” is of course under
Senatorial control, as both its chairman and vice chairman, and conceivably other members of its leadership, are
themselves senators (N.B., however, that “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges” reveals that Koval is actually an informant
of Section 31, a radical organization within Starfleet Intelligence). The Romulan military/naval complex’s logistics
outside Romulan space in the Dominion War were overseen by Senator Cretak’s liaison office, while actual
operational planning was in the hands of a Senatorial military consul; the Senate clearly had tight control of the
military during the war. This perhaps contributed to the disgruntlement of certain radical extremist elements in the
military, which subsequently allied themselves with revolutionary elements in the Reman caste, resulting in the
assassination of Hiren and approximately 25 other senators and the installation of the revolutionary leader Shinzon of
Remus as Praetor. As of yet, it remains to be seen how the military-backed Reman coup will affect Romulan politics.
References:
Star Trek. It is a polity whose trappings of state are virtually the only thing known about it; there is little canonical
information about the Romulan people, or Romulan culture, except that the Romulans were originally Vulcanian
dissenters who rejected Surak’s ideology of logic, as revealed by Lieutenant Commander Spock in “Balance of
Terror” and that the Romulans practice infanticide to eliminate birth defects, as established by “The Enemy.”
Instead, the majority of the known information regarding the Star Empire deals with its government, which in
characteristically statist fashion dominates politics, state security, and war, rather than the other way around. The
Romulan state is highly ideological; it views the United Federation of Planets as being exploitative and short-sighted
according to “The Defector.” Admiral Alidar Jarok from “The Defector” and Senator Pardek, a 90-year member of
the Senate and advocate of peace and Vulcanian/Romulan reunification for decades as of 2368 in “Unification,” are
exceedingly rare in that they demonstrated genuine political nonconformity, although Pardek’s nonconformity was in
fact a political masquerade.
The supreme organ of the Romulan Star Empire is the Senate, a college of long-serving statesmen which holds its
sessions on the homeworld of Romulus, which was first mentioned in “Balance of Terror”; according to
“Unification,” the Senate does not sit on the third day of the week. There does not appear to be any fundamental
separation of executive and legislative power, and the Senate appears to exercise both, overseeing almost all facets of
the state directly or indirectly through one of its committees or subordinate councils. Indeed, the Senate itself appears
to act collegially as chief of state, although certainly some functions normally associated with a chief of state would
be performed by the presiding officer, the Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire, who is the highest ranking state
official in the Star Empire, although it is probably most accurate to say that he or she performs functions of a chief of
state; the Senate itself collectively appears to possess the powers of chieftaincy of state. It is probable that the
Praetor is the leader of the governing party within the Senate, although the ideological uniformity among most of the
Romulans suggests that parties are personality-based rather than formal political organizations. Proconsul Neral, who
first appeared in “Unification,” later appeared as Praetor as of 2375 in “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges,” while Praetor
Hiren was assassinated in 2379 in Nemesis; Praetor Shinzon of Remus, leader of the coup d’état that killed Hiren and
much of the Senate, commented in Nemesis that governments change often on Romulus, although the highly orderly
nature of Romulan politics suggests this refers more to a change in governing party rather than repeated coups. It is
noteworthy that two of the known assassinations of Romulan political figures are known or implied to be the work
of foreign powers.
The Continuing Committee, which first appeared in “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges,” seems to be roughly equivalent
to a politburo or Cabinet-type organization, essentially the principal executive organ of the state. The Committee is
shown to include eight members as of 2375 (this is not necessarily the Committee’s entire membership), is very
probably composed of the most powerful senators, including the Praetor, who chairs the Committee. Interestingly,
Chairman Koval, the head of the Romulan intelligence and state security service, the Tal Shiar, was not yet a member
of the Continuing Committee during the Dominion War; rather, he was in line for membership, which helps establish
that the Romulan state is not dominated by its secret police, whose head is a member of the Senate and not
necessarily a member of what is quite likely the presidium of the Senate, functioning perhaps along parliamentary
lines in its relationship to the Praetor and the Senate itself. The Praetor is confirmed in office by the Continuing
Committee, and it has the right to sit in judgment over senators accused of crimes. It is noteworthy that while the
Chairman of the Tal Shiar was not a member of the Continuing Committee, the Vice Chairman of the Tal Shiar,
Senator Vreenak as of 2374 in “In the Pale Moonlight,” was also Secretary of the War Plans Council and a trusted
advisor to Neral.
In addition to the Continuing Committee, senators can hold other positions alongside their membership in the Senate.
There is for example the proconsul, an office whose specific nature in the Romulan state remains unknown, but is
probably a high-ranking governor of an important province, or some other comparable function; Proconsul Merrok
was poisoned on Romulus at some point while Elim Garak was gardener at the Cardassian Embassy, according to
“Broken Link.” Vice Proconsul M’ret was a very distinguished and influential senator when he defected to the United
Federation in 2369 in “Face of the Enemy,” which further suggests that the position of proconsul must be rather
prestigious. Additionally, in 2375, Senator Nimara Cretak directly liaised with Allied representatives and
governments in “Image in the Sand,” performing functions that one would ordinarily expect of a member of the
Romulan commander’s staff or a diplomatic agent, such as the negotiation of the establishment of a military hospital
in the Bajor system. In “Tears of the Prophets,” Senator Letant is said to be a military consul and meets with United
Federation Captain Benjamin L. Sisko and Klingon General Martok regarding the proposed invasion of the Chin’toka
system; whereas one would expect the commanders of the Allied forces in the operation to meet with the Romulan
commander, they instead meet directly with a member of the Senate.
This of course leaves the question of how one enters the Senate. Seeing that the Senate is not simply a legislature –
the actual conduct of diplomatic, defense, and intelligence operations is generally understood to belong to the
executive power – is it reasonable to expect the Senate’s membership to be selected on a representational basis? The
obvious overtones of authoritarianism in the various appearances of the Romulans suggest otherwise. It seems clear
that the most powerful offices in the state are related to the Senate and its committees and councils; is it possible that
membership in the Senate is a dignity associated with certain high offices, rather than an office in and of itself?
Perhaps men such as M’ret, Merrok, and Neral were members of the Senate by virtue of their ranks as vice proconsul
or proconsul. This method, which is consistent with the original idea of a senate as a council of experienced, elder
statesmen (the word “senate” is derived from senatus, itself from the Latin word senex, “old man”), would easily
explain why the Romulan state was comfortable with leaving to senators responsibility for negotiation of non-
aggression pacts with foreign powers (Vreenak, “In the Pale Moonlight”), relations with the Allied governments and
militaries (Cretak, “Image in the Sand”) or conduct of operational planning (Letat, “Tears of the Prophets”): each
senator would have a background of management and administration, or else he or she would not be a senator in the
first place.
Furthermore, the use of senators to occupy the senior positions of leadership of the other organs of state guarantees
(in theory) the senate’s dominance of the Romulan state. The paramilitary Tal Shiar, which has been seen to control
substantial naval assets in such episodes as “The Die Is Cast” and “Message in a Bottle,” is of course under
Senatorial control, as both its chairman and vice chairman, and conceivably other members of its leadership, are
themselves senators (N.B., however, that “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges” reveals that Koval is actually an informant
of Section 31, a radical organization within Starfleet Intelligence). The Romulan military/naval complex’s logistics
outside Romulan space in the Dominion War were overseen by Senator Cretak’s liaison office, while actual
operational planning was in the hands of a Senatorial military consul; the Senate clearly had tight control of the
military during the war. This perhaps contributed to the disgruntlement of certain radical extremist elements in the
military, which subsequently allied themselves with revolutionary elements in the Reman caste, resulting in the
assassination of Hiren and approximately 25 other senators and the installation of the revolutionary leader Shinzon of
Remus as Praetor. As of yet, it remains to be seen how the military-backed Reman coup will affect Romulan politics.
References:
- Baird, Stuart. Star Trek: Nemesis. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 2002.
- Beaumont, Gabrielle. “Face of the Enemy.” Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paramount Pictures
Corporation, 1993. - Bole, Cliff. “Unification, Part II.” Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1991.
- Carson, David. “The Enemy.” Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1989.
- Kroeker, Allan. “Tears of the Prophets.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Paramount Pictures Corporation,
1998. - Landau, Les. “Broken Link.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1996.
- Landau, Les. “Image in the Sand.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1998.
- Landau, Les. “Unification, Part I.” Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1991.
- Livingston, David. “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Paramount Pictures
Corporation, 1999. - Livingston, David. “The Die Is Cast.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1995.
- Lobl, Victor. “In the Pale Moonlight.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1998.
- Malone, Nancy. “Message in a Bottle.” Star Trek: Voyager. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1998.
- McEveety, Vincent. “Balance of Terror.” Star Trek. Desilu Productions, 1966.
- Scheerer, Robert. “The Defector.” Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1990.
| This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended. Star Trek and related materials are © Paramount Pictures Corporation, which reserves all rights thereto. All original material is © Julius Sykes. Please do not use without permission. |
This article is developed from posts made by the author to Mr. Michael Wong’s StarDestroyer.Net message board in
December 2002 and January 2003. Thanks to “Stofsk” for correcting Surak’s name (the article previously incorrectly used
Sarek’s name). It was originally published in November 2004, and was republished on 26 January 2007.
The title “Senatus Populusque Romulanus” is a play on the traditional formula Senatus Populusque Romanus (Latin: “The
Senate and the Roman People”), the official signature of the ancient Roman Republic.
December 2002 and January 2003. Thanks to “Stofsk” for correcting Surak’s name (the article previously incorrectly used
Sarek’s name). It was originally published in November 2004, and was republished on 26 January 2007.
The title “Senatus Populusque Romulanus” is a play on the traditional formula Senatus Populusque Romanus (Latin: “The
Senate and the Roman People”), the official signature of the ancient Roman Republic.