The Commission of Public Safety is a ruling governmental body in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.
Description[]
The Commission of Public Safety is the ruling aristocratic clique that assumes control of the Galactic Empire following the assassination of Emperor Cleon I.
The Commission emerged as the de facto governing power after the end of the Entun dynasty. It was typically controlled by the great families of the Empire, notably the Chens and the Divarts. Initially a nucleus of order during centuries of instability, it eventually degenerated into an instrument for blindly maintaining the status quo. Its primary concern was the preservation of its own political power rather than the public welfare.
The Commission is infamous for its persecution of Hari Seldon. Viewing his science of psychohistory as a threat to the established order, they arrested both Seldon and his newly arrived colleague, Gaal Dornick. During Seldon's trial, the Commission's lawyer attempted to portray the Psychohistory Project's goal of compiling an encyclopedia as a cover for treason. Seldon successfully turned the trial to his advantage, arguing that his Encyclopedia Galactica would preserve knowledge and shorten the ensuing interregnum from thirty thousand years to a single millennium. This argument convinced the Commission, under the leadership of Linge Chen, to allow his project to continue in exile to Terminus, a decision they believed removed a threat but which actually ensured the fulfillment of the Seldon Plan.
Decades later, during the reign of Emperor Agis XIV, the Commission, still led by the Chen family, remained the true power behind a largely ceremonial throne. It was responsible for the overthrow and likely assassination of Agis when he attempted to exercise genuine imperial authority. The Commission continued its surveillance of Seldon and ultimately orchestrated the final exile of his project to Terminus.