When Obi-Wan and Anakin were captured at the start of Episode III, General Grievous addressed Obi-Wan as ‘the Negotiator’.
Why did he do so?
First of all, before becoming High Jedi General Kenobi, he accompanied his Master Qui-Gon Jinn on many diplomatic missions while still being a padawan. During The Clone Wars, when he was way older and calmer he was always trying to find a peaceful way to solve various conflicts.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why was Obi-Wan called the Negotiator?
Obi-Wan is known as The Negotiator as he believed in negotiating throughout The Clone Wars, as he felt that Jedi should not be warriors. The story of his diplomatic skills was known all the way throughout the Galaxy. Kenobi was always the calming presence in a room, be it in The High Council Chamber or any planetary negotiation, he was always looking for the best way to solve problems.
Even the name of his flagship – the Venator-class Star Destroyer Negotiator is mirroring his nickname.
Early Days
During his time as a padawan, Obi-Wan spent countless hours in the Jedi Archives. Doing research about Jedi’s prophecies and the travels he and his Master went on.
While travelling with Qui-Gon, he went on various missions.
One of them was on the Wookie planet – Kashyyyk. The goal of the trip was to show young Obi-Wan how the Wookiee’s way of life. The harmony they had was related to what Qui-Gonn thought the connection to the Force should be. On that mission, his master and a few Wookies were captured by Trandoshan hunters.
Long story short – while Kenobi was trying to save them – he surrendered himself, claiming he was nothing but a padawan. During his conversation with the leader of the troublemakers, he freed Jinn by using the Force. This created an advantageous situation, which led to an end without any bloodshed.
This happened during the days when he was way more like Anakin – kind of reckless and hot-blooded. Even then he had a gift for negotiations, which he developed as he became older.
On the mission to Pijal, he was appointed as a representative of the Jedi Council.
“The Jedi Council—the Council has named me the rightful representative of the Republic, for the purposes of the ceremony.“
Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Pijal
There he had to navigate through a difficult conflict that involved the process of an absolute monarchy becoming a democracy. Obi-Wan’s role was to ratify the initiative on behalf of The Republic.
While there are more examples from his early days – we are moving towards the prequels of the Star Wars saga.
Prequel Days
Not long after that, we got this gem.
This was one of the first sassy moments where we could see Obi-Wan’s wit and brains. Also, the fact that he was sent to negotiate with the Trade Federation suggests that this is a major part of the role he had in the Jedi Order.
While these negotiations failed, which ultimately led to The Clone Wars (and essentially the entire saga) – it wasn’t really his fault.
Kenobi was often seen as wise beyond his years, his humble and soft-spoken behaviour was kind of hiding his warrior prowess.
You can find out more about how he represented everything that the old Jedi Order valued – (modesty, selflessness and honour) in this article here.
With these qualities, it is easy to understand why he was able to solve so many conflicts without ever using weapons.
In the next clip, it is obvious that Anakin also got some of his cheekiness, by telling Padmé a story of their aggressive negotiations.
You can find out more about Padmé and Anakin’s secret marriage here.
It’s also become a running gag, with Padmé trolling Anakin later in the movies.
Below, you can see Obi-Wan’s dissatisfaction, even when he kills General Grievous.
Another of my favourite lines is in this video. It’s about the usage of blasters on the battlefield.
“So uncivilized…“
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The Clone Wars
In The Clone Wars Movie (2008), during the battle on Christophsis, we can see how Obi-Wan concedes a battle. Then he proceeds to negotiate, which eventually led to a victory for The Republic.
As you can see – the way he behaves justifies his title of The Negotiator. His stalling was just enough for Anakin and Ahsoka to remove the shield on the planet, which led to minimal losses for both sides.
In The Clone Wars series, we can see various examples of him trying to take the best course of action.
Here, we can see that his selflessness is something he uses in his negotiations, where he always puts the mission before his own good.
In this clip Obi-Wan, once again, handles the conflict rather well. As soon as he and Anakin escape prison successfully they neither arrest nor harm the enemy captain. They just release him as they have no drama with him and just leave his fate to Count Dooku.
Conclusion
Throughout his life, Obi-Wan was a Jedi, a general, a friend, a mentor and many more. He was always looking out for others. He always followed the Jedi Code and tried not to harm anyone. He even left his only love interest in Dutchess Satine Kryze in order to be the Jedi the Galaxy needed.
Witty, smart and selfless – everything you could look for in a hero.
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