 The Tribune was an office first created to protect the right of the common man in Roman politics and served as the head of the Plebeian Council.In the mid-to-late Republic, however, plebeians were often just as, and sometimes more, wealthy and powerful than patricians.Those who held the office were granted sacrosanctity (the right to be legally protected from any physical harm), the power to rescue any plebeian from the hands of a patrician magistrate, and the right to veto any act or proposal of any magistrate, including another tribune of the people and the consuls.