Pre-Spellplague there was 4 Grand dukes. Now there is only one:
“Since the attempted coup by Valarken, however, the government underwent a major revision and the only grand duke today is Portyr, who rules at the behest of the Baldurian Parliament.
At present, Grand Duke Portyr and the Baldurian Parliament are uninterested in involving Baldur’s Gate in the affairs of others. For the most part, the city is respected as a neutral power in relation to the other states of the Sword Coast and the Western Heartlands, a reputation it earned in part through its open door policy towards refugees during the fallout of the Spellplague. Perhaps more importantly, Baldur’s Gate, while undoubtedly a rich prize, is so well-defended by its massive walls and well-trained Flaming Fists protectors that few would ever seriously consider invading and occupying the city.
Historically, Baldur’s Gate has had a long enmity with its southern neighbor, Amn, which nearly resulted in war during the Iron crisis of 1368 DR. Recently, however, the only major threats to Baldur’s Gate are the pirates operating out of the ruins of Luskan or the merchants of Waterdeep, who resent the city’s growing wealth and power. Baldur’s Gate has allies in the Lords’ Alliance and the nation of Elturgard.”
Council of Four
The Council of Four was the governing body of the city of Baldur’s Gate consisting of four powerful individuals elected for life. The council was part of the Lords’ Alliance, which includes Waterdeep, Neverwinter and Silverymoon, among others. <— PRE-Spellplague
The council is now replaced by a parliament.
The history of the council dates back to the earliest days of Baldur’s Gate and the conflict between the rich farmers of the walled city and the sea-captains of the harbor who refused to pay for entering the gate that had been financed by their colleague Balduran. The captains overthrew the farmers and the four eldest among them was installed as rulers, jokingly calling themselves “dukes”.
Sometime before 1479 DR Grand Duke Valarken tried to seize power using lycanthropic mercenaries but failed. After that, surviving Grand Duke Portyr dissolved the council and now rules the city together with a parliament
