The Galactic Republic has been responsible for the well being of all its member planets for the past twenty five millenia. The Senate that forms the backbone of the Republic has members from every planet within the area of its influence. This means that the Senate is composed of hundreds of elected politicians from hundreds of sectors.
Every member world of the Republic sends elected politicians to the Senate to create laws, pacts, and treaties to help in governing the galactic union. It is the Senates task to select the course of the galactic government and administer to the many member systems in a way that benefited everyone they represented. The leader of the forum is the President of the Senate, who is elected by the other Senators to serve as a roving ambassador, arbiter, policy maker, and planner.
If a member of the Senate could not attend at the actual Senate (at Coruscant), then they could participate in the debates through the HoloNet, a connection of nul-mass hyperspace transcievers that recieved a signal through hyperspace and passed it on to the next transciever in the chain, which allows for instantanious communication throughout the galaxy.
Note: An officer who has reached the rank of General may still request flight duty from his senior officer. Under most circumstances, this is accepted by the commanding officer.