First Lord of the Star League

The First Lord of the Star League was the head of state of the Star League, who had full both political and military authority.

The First Lord during the first Star League had full authority to authorize any venture, whether military or political, that he wished. This is most telling in the case of the Reunification War, when First Lord Cameron authorized the conquest of the Periphery nations back into the Star League's authority. The Star Lord also was the traditional commander-in-chief of the Star League Defense Force (SLDF), which acted as a military police force to prevent any outbreaks of conflict amongst what would later become the Successor States.

During the first Star League this position was inherited inside the Cameron family until the childless Richard Cameron was assassinated by Stefan Amaris who also managed to wipe out all known members of the Cameron family. The SLDF, under the command of Aleksandr Kerensky, managed to defeat Amaris's forces in the Amaris-Kerensky Civil War and executed him and his family in retaliation.

Amaris' actions lead to a succession crisis. The powerful House Lords, which were the logical candidates being the most powerful individuals of the Inner Sphere, were simply unable to agree among themselves and each of them claimed the title for himself. This led to the Succession Wars.

second Star League

The position of First Lord was resurrected during the second Star League. The Inner Sphere was being invaded by the Clans and the resurrection of the Star League and of a First Lord was intended as an unifying political gesture.

The First Lord would be chosen by the Head's of state of the Inner Sphere from among themselves. Comstar would vote only in the case of a tie. Each term of First Lord was for 3 years and there was no possibility of being re-elected until all the other Head's of state had held the position.

The position of First Lord had little real power during the Second Star League. The second Star League was little more than a paper-tiger, which lacked its own military forces. Furthermore the First Lord was largely powerless to prevent member-nations from leaving.

There were only three persons that held the position of First Lord.

With the dissolve of the second Star League the position of First Lord once again became void.