United Federation of Planets
“We the lifeforms of the United Federation of Planets determined
- to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and
- to reaffirm faith in the fundamental rights of sentient beings, in the dignity and worth of all lifeforms, in the equal rights of members of planetary systems large and small, and
- to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of interstellar law can be maintained, and
- to promote social progress and better standards of living on all worlds,
And for these ends,
- to practice toleration and live together in peace with one another, and
- to unite our strength to maintain interstellar peace and security, and
- to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institutions of methods, that weapons of destruction shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
- to employ interstellar resources for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all lifeforms,
Have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.
Accordingly, the respective social systems, through representatives assembled here, who have exhibited their full powers to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter, and do hereby establish an interstellar organization to be known as the United Federation of Planets.”
– Preamble of the Charter of the United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets (abbreviated as UFP and commonly referred to as the Federation) is a supranational interstellar union of multiple planetary constituent political entities under a single central government, founded on the principles of liberty, equality, peace, justice, and progress, with the purpose of furthering the universal rights of all sentient life. Federation members exchange knowledge and resources to facilitate peaceful cooperation, scientific development, space exploration, and mutual defense.
One of the most powerful interstellar states in known space, the Federation encompasses eight thousand light years. The total number of formal member worlds was over one hundred and fifty in 2375. Unlike its imperial rivals - especially the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire, who derived power from a single species subjugating other races, the Federation's various member worlds joined voluntarily and were equals in the Federation's democratic society.
HISTORY
The Federation was founded in San Francisco, Earth in 2161. The seeds of the Federation were planted during the Babel Crisis of 2154, during which a temporary alliance was formed to search for a Romulan drone ship preying on local vessels. It was this that first brought together the species that founded the Federation: Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites. In early January 2155, these four species as well as others, including the Denobulans, the Rigelians, and the Coridanites, began talks to create what was later considered a direct precursor to the Federation: the Coalition of Planets. The Earth-Romulan War, which broke out in 2156 and was won by an alliance of forces from Earth, Andoria, Vulcan, and Tellar in 2160, immediately preceded the foundation of the Federation, which took place the following year between dignitaries of these four planets.
Origins
Negotiations began in January of 2161, leading to the signing of the Charter of the United Federation of Planets (an evolution of the Coalition of Planets Charter) and, after further negotiation and ratification by planetary governments, the United Federation of Planets formally came into being with the signing of the Federation Constitution on October 11, 2161 by representatives of Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and the newly independent Proxima Centauri colony. The date is still celebrated as Federation Day on many Federation worlds. The first meeting of the fledgling Federation Council occurred almost immediately after the signing, with the initial order of business being the election of the first President and Vice President of the Federation, Thomas anderbilt of Eath and Sarahd of Andor respectively.
Age of Exploration
The fledgling United Federation of Planets expanded quickly in its first few decades. With the Romulans locked away behind the Neutral Zone and the Klingons embroiled in internal conflict between the Great Houses, the Federation's new Starfleet focused on exploration. The 23rd Century saw the vessels from Operation Next Step, an initiative to replace the previous generation of starships, which had derived from the fleets of the individual Federation founders, with the first generation built with the integrated technologies of all Federation members. These ships would lead the bulk of the exploration efforts until the rise of the Constitution Class and its derivative siblings.
Edge of Night
The decades of peace came to end in 2256 with the Battle of the Binary Stars, where a Federation fleet coming to the aid of the USS Shenzou suffered a devastating loss to a unified Klingon fleet in the initial confrontation of the first Federation-Klingon War. The war would bring conflict to the heart of the Federation, including the first hostile incursion into the Sol Sector in a century. Disaster for the Federation was only averted when an internal coup brought a new Chancellor to power in the Klingon Empire who then agreed to a cease fire. Barely a decade later, the Romulan Star Empire returned to the galactic stage for the first time since their defeat in the Earth-Romulan War over a hundred years earlier. Less than a year after the Romulans had re-emerged the Federation was drawn into a second conflict with the Klingon Empire, this only ending quickly due to the intervention of the powerful Organians, who imposed a peace treaty on the two governments.
Crisis Points
The later decades of the 23rd Century saw a string of crises that threatened the Federation. The first occurred in 2273, when the V'Ger entity cut a path through Klingon and Federation space to Earth itself before it was stopped. A decade later the scandal surrounding the Genesis Device set Federation-Klingon relations back years, threatening to bring the two powers once again to war. Less than a year after Earth was again under threat, this time by an alien probe whose attack crippled several starships and nearly destroyed the planet before communication was established and the probe departed. The end of the century brought a sense of hope to the Federation, however, as an ecological disaster threatening the Klingon Empire brought them to the negotiating table, resulting in the first real peace treaty between the them and the Federation in the form of the Khitomer Accords.
New Dawn
With peace seemingly at hand with the Klingon Empire, and the withdrawal of the Romulans from galactic affairs following the Tomed Incident in 2311, the early 24th Century was an unprecedented period of growth for the Federation. Starfleet's attention was turned again towards exploration, and technological advancements allowed the Federation to expand its borders at an even faster pace. Hundreds of new worlds and species were discovered, and dozens of new worlds joined the Federation.
Time of Conflict
The sacrifice of the USS Enterprise-C in defense of the Klingon outpost on Narendra III solidified the alliance between the once bitter enemies, but peace was not to last. In 2347 conflict erupted between the Federation and the Cardassian Union over disputed territories along the ill-defined border. In the midst of this another war erupted between the Federation and the Tzenkethi Coalition, though it only amounted to a scattered number of skirmishes over a few years before the conflict ended with a treaty. The Federation-Cardassian War dragged on until hostilities ended with a truce in 2366. An armistice followed in 2367 but it was not until 2370 that the war formally ended in a treaty establishing a Demilitarized Zone between the two powers. The Federation also encountered a new, dangerous enemy, the Borg, during this period. Finally, discovery of the Bajoran Wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant in 2369 led to contact with the Dominion, the consequences of which would plunge the Federation into arguably its deadliest conflict since its creation two centuries earlier, the Dominion War. From its precursor conflicts in 2372 to its end in 2375, the Dominion War would reshape the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.
The Next Era
As the 2380s dawn the Federation is in another expansion period. Despite the losses of the Dominion War, the Federation still fared better than most of its neighbors. The Cardassian Union is a shell of its former self, the Klingon Empire will be decades recovering from its losses during the war, and the Romulan Star Empire is still in chaos following a failed coup that killed most of its senior political leadership. Buoyed by rapid recruitment of allies during the war, and now beginning to see the fruit of technological advancements brought back from the Delta Quadrant by the USS Voyager, the Federation is possibly the strongest it has been in its two centuries of existence.
ORGANIZATION
The Federation's government was structured as that of a federal constitutional republic, with much of its facilities located on the planet Earth in Sector 001.
Executive Branch
The executive branch was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Federation. The democratically-elected Federation President was the head of this branch. The Federation President served as both the head of state and head of government; as chief executive officer of the government, the President determined most of the Federation's foreign policy, managed budgetary concerns, and served as supreme commander of the Federation's military forces. The Federation Cabinet was a special executive committee to the President of the United Federation of Planets.
Legislative Branch
The Federation Council was the unicameral legislature of the Federation. Composed of representatives from the various member worlds, the Federation Council held the power to create, amend, and ratify Federation law. The Federation Council also held a great deal of influence over the operations of the Federation's military and humanitarian service, Starfleet. It sometimes served as the judging body of specially-convened courts-martial, and on occasion issued operational orders to Starfleet. The Council also held influence over the making of Federation foreign policy.
Judiciary
The judiciary was the branch of government responsible for resolving legal disputes. It consisted of a hierarchy of courts, with the Federation Supreme Court at its apex. Federation courts sometimes relied on panels of citizens known as juries. The Federation Grand Jury heard testimony as part of criminal investigations, while the Federation Special Jury tried war criminals. Alongside the civilian courts, Starfleet had its own system of courts martial.
Starfleet
Starfleet was the deep-space exploratory and defensive service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Its principal functions were the advancement of Federation knowledge about the galaxy, the advancement of Federation knowledge of science and technology, and the defense of the Federation. In addition, it also played a significant diplomatic role. As per its mandate of deep-space exploration, its personnel were frequently brought into contact with cultures and sentient species whose existences were previously unknown to the Federation. Federation Starfleet officers therefore acted as official representatives of the Federation in these cases. Also, Federation Starfleet vessels were frequently used to ferry ambassadors on diplomatic missions.
Federation Membership
Admittance into the Federation can be granted either by invitation or successful petition submitted by a world, civilization, or government desiring to join voluntarily. In the second case, membership was granted only upon satisfaction of meeting certain requirements and conditions. Firstly, the government of the prospective member submitted an official petition to the Federation Council, outlining its desire to join. A lengthy, thorough investigation of the prospective member's culture followed, including copying records from the applicant's central computer. This investigation could last several years, and was done to ascertain whether or not the culture genuinely shared the values of the Federation: values of benevolence, peaceful co-existence and co-operation, the rule of law, justice, and equal rights and freedoms.
The Starfleet Medical computer records include a list of prominent Federation species.