Poggle the Lesser
Poggle the Lesser is the Archduke of Geonosis as seen in Attack of the Clones. As planetary leader of the Geonosians and member of the Techno Union, Poggle controls the vast droid factories found on his planet.
Originally, Poggle was a member of the Geonosian lower caste, hence his surname 'The Lesser'. He sought the position held by then-Archduke Hadiss the Vaulted and organized a revolt against him, which seemed to be of little concern to Hadiss, who easily dealt with the rebels.
That was until the Sith Lord Darth Sidious came to Poggle's aid and secretly funded his revolution. Over time, Poggle's rebels finally seized power and Poggle at last became Archduke of the Stalgasin Hive Colony, the ruling hive of Geonosis, and Hadiss was executed in the Geonosian arena.
Once Poggle the Lesser was in power, Darth Sidious' intentions became clear: he wanted control of the droid factories to supply battle droids to the Trade Federation for an invasion of Naboo. Poggle, grateful for Sidious' help, gladly struck a deal with the Trade Federation. That Poggle and the Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray hate each other but still work together is greater testament to the influence of the Sith Lord.
Shortly after Gunray was humiliated at the Battle of Naboo, Poggle was approached by the rogue Jedi Count Dooku, revealing himself as Darth Tyranus, the new apprentice of Darth Sidious. Dooku formed a partnership with Poggle; Poggle would ensure that Geonosis was among the founding worlds of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and supply a large supply of the Confederacy's battle droid army. In return, Poggle would be paid large sums of money for his trouble and Geonosis would earn a place on the high order of the new Confederacy. This partnership was lucrative; Poggle even took the liberty to create a new super battle droid for the Confederacy.
Nearly ten years after their initial meeting, Poggle the Lesser hosted first meeting of the Confederacy in the Stalgasin Hive. The Geonosians captured Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala soon after this meeting and Poggle himself presided over their trials, charging them with espionage and sentencing them to execution at the Geonosian arena. Senator Amidala warned Poggle that to execute three officials of the Republic was an act of war; Poggle scoffed that as a builder of weapons, he was more than prepared for it.
The execution did not go as Poggle planned, but despite the prisoners managing to outwit the arena beasts (and Nute Gunray's constant complaining), Poggle was satisfied by the display, until Mace Windu and several Jedi arrived to rescue them. Poggle's battle droids outnumbered the Jedi and victory seemed sure, until the Republic Army arrived. Poggle and the Separatists retreated to a war room and watched helplessly as the Republic Army, suddenly manned by squadrons of clone troopers, slaughtered their droid army. Poggle ordered his soldiers to retreat and hide, but before he joined them, he turned over plans to the Death Star- a secret project he had been contracted to build by the Separatists which would later become the Galactic Empire's feared superweapon- to Count Dooku and erased all data from his computers.
Poggle the Lesser is human-sized and insectoid like all Geonosians, but his frame is slightly larger than his servants and he has a set of fleshy, beard-like tendrils growing around his mouth as well as a prominent head-crest. At full height, Poggle stands almost as tall as Count Dooku. He carries with him a command staff which is rumored to be made from the bones of a murdered political rival- possibly a grim trophy from the execution of Hadiss the Vaulted.
Poggle the Lesser, like Nute Gunray, is aware of the existence of Darth Sidious, but like Jango Fett and unlike the viceroy, he also knows that Count Dooku is Darth Tyranus. What Poggle doesn't know, however, is the true identity of Lord Sidious or that the very clones used to attack him were commissioned by Sidious and Tyranus. Though not the most intelligent or diplomatically-versed being in the Star Wars universe, it is notable that the Sith have placed a great deal of trust in him, and that he and Count Dooku respect each other mutually (Dooku's Solar Sailer is a gift from Poggle), even if he is, for the most part, unaware of their true intentions.