Henson Duval was the founder and first Emperor of the Empire, reigning from 2320 to 2402. After his sister Marlin Duval died in a speeder crash in 2296, Henson used his popularity among the colonists to assume control of Achenar's government, declaring a change of the idealistic democratic rule of the colony and associated systems from elected Senators who represented the people in Achenar, to a hereditary monarchy with imperial succession that was passed down from father to son. This was the birth of a galactic superpower, the Empire. Henson Duval was formally crowned as the first Emperor of the Empire in 2320.