The Greater Terran Union is composed of several semi-autonomous interstellar commissariats, civilian governments overtly blended with the military chain of command. The Interstellar Commissariats are different from the Terrestrial Commissariats of Earth, which are the founding states of the GTU, and are inherently malleable tools for the national government to manage its affairs.
Every commissariat official holds dual civilian and military ranks allowed by their citizenship tier. A commissariat is governed by a Commissar-General, often held by a Marshall, appointed by the High Marshal and approved by the Commissariat's Regional Assembly. Most power in in regional government's is vested in the Commissar-General's Office, with the Regional Assembly channeling the will of popular sentiment, business interests, scientific organizations and non-governmental organizations.
Commissariats may be created, expanded, reduced, or dissolved by order of the High Marshal, on approval of the National Assembly. By the late 27th century the GTU had several commissariats, and newly acquired territory was often reformed into new ones.
Commissariats extant in 2690 included
| Interstellar Commissariats | System | Capital | Established Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | Rodina | Volga | 2363 |
| Sakaraya | Yeni Ankara | ||
| Outer Rim | |||
| Raznum | Raznum | Artemis | 2222 |
| Augean | |||
| Horizon | Horizon | ||
| Thermopylae | Moria | Thermopylae Station |
More commissariats were formed after the War in Heaven, the Florian Commissariat the first among them, composed of the former Florian Matriarchy, in addition to other commissariats. Some new commissariats were formed from conquered regions of the Milky Way, while others were were formed from voluntary annexations of weak galactic powers.
The Core Sector, centered on the Sol System and early GTU colonies is exempt from the Commissariat system, has no self governance and is ruled directly by the National Assembly. Highly important but lightly or uninhabited systems, such as the L-Cluster or the the Xani Core World are governed as part of the Core Sector.
Occasionally the GTU would retain conquered regions as Occupation Zones, without formally including them in the Union. These regions were ruled by martial law, and were either a step towards integration as full commissariats, or an end to their occupation and release as Terran Protectorates.
Meaning of the word "Commissariat"
Terran Commissariats should not be confused with other meanings of the word commissariat. The commissariats of the GTU are political/military subdivisions of the GTU, with no almost separation between civil government and the military. Possibly confused meanings include:
- A police station.
- A logistics unit which provides military units with food and supplies.
- Russian/USSR military commissariats, charged with military administrative actives.
- People's Commissariats of the USSR, akin to government ministries rather than territorial governments.
- Political Commissars, individuals charged with overseeing political orthodoxy in military units.