Summary
- Grand Admiral Thrawn is a memorable villain in the Star Wars franchise, but there are many other Grand Admirals in both the canon and Legends continuities.
- The rank of Grand Admiral is one of the highest ranks within the Imperial Navy, but it can also be found in other factions such as the Sith Empire, Fel Empire, and First Order.
- Each Grand Admiral has their own unique story and contributions to the Star Wars universe, with some becoming leaders of their own warlord factions or even defecting to the New Republic.
Grand Admiral Thrawn has become one of the Star Wars franchise’s most memorable villains after the events of the original trilogy, but the canon and Legends continuities include a plethora of other Grand Admirals. In its original Legends incarnation, the rank of Grand Admiral was, officially, the highest rank within the Imperial Navy, though in practice, Grand Admirals were one of the highest ranks within the Empire. Legends-era Grand Admirals outranked Grand Moffs, but were outranked by the Grand Vizier (Sate Pestage), the Supreme Commander and Executor (both ranks held by Darth Vader), and the Emperor himself.
In Legends, the rank of Grand Admiral was created two years before the events of A New Hope by Palpatine, choosing twelve of the Empire’s best and brightest Naval Officers, military researchers, zealous Imperial ideologues, and even a trained dark side user. The broad strokes of the Legends-era Grand Admirals became part of the post-2014 canon continuity as well. In both canon and Legends, the rank of Grand Admiral generally applies to Naval officers within the Galactic Empire and its various warlord factions, but there are also Grand Admirals within the ancient Sith Empire, Fel Empire, and First Order. Here are all 21 Grand Admirals in Star Wars history.
21 Thrawn (Legends)
Often seen as the unofficial thirteenth Grand Admiral, the Heir to the Empire's Grand Admiral Thrawn officially replaced Demetrius Zaarin following the latter’s attempted coup, but Thrawn is hypothesized to have attained the rank well before then. Thrawn’s infamously brilliant strategic mind and passion for the arts made him one of the New Republic’s most formidable enemies, with the Chiss warlord forming a confederation five years after the Battle of Endor. Thrawn and his nearly-unified Empire were defeated at the Battle of Bilbringi, in which Thrawn was assassinated by his bodyguard, Rukh, in retaliation for the Empire’s atrocities against the Noghri.
20 Thrawn (Canon)
Grand Admiral Thrawn’s canon counterpart was introduced in Star Wars Rebels as the antagonist of its final two seasons. Serving in the Chiss Ascendancy's Defense Fleet, Thrawn was exiled to known space to appease aristocrats while secretly on a mission to obtain information and allies that could aid in the threat posed by they Grysks. Palpatine took an interest in Thrawn, promoting him to Grand Admiral after he soared through the Imperial ranks in a few short years. Ezra Bridger defeated Thrawn by sending his flagship to the extragalactic planet of Peridea, where the Grand Admiral remained until 9 ABY. After returning to the main Star Wars galaxy in the first season finale of Ahsoka, Thrawn’s story will likely continue in future seasons of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Dave Filoni’s forthcoming Star Wars movie.
19 Gilad Pellaeon
Thrawn’s right-hand man Gilad Pellaeon would go on to lead the first truly successful successor state to the Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant, becoming a Grand Admiral within the faction. Pellaeon, despite having served the proper Galactic Empire and warlords like Thrawn, signed a peace treaty with the New Republic in 19 ABY, finally ending the Galactic Civil War. Grand Admiral Pellaeon’s Imperial Remnant would fight alongside the New Republic in the Yuuzhan Vong War.
18 Nial Declann
Once a member of the Republic Navy and a non-clone veteran of the Clone Wars, Nial Declann joined the Empire as a TIE Fighter pilot. Declann was not only a skilled pilot but also a powerful Force-sensitive who, with Palpatine’s endorsement, trained to use the dark side of the Force on Dromund Kaas. Declann’s astounding Force potential, as well as his conventional skills, helped him become a Grand Admiral, and he participated in the Battle of Endor, bolstering Imperial forces via battle meditation. Declann met his end, however, when the second Death Star was destroyed.
17 Martio Batch
Nicknamed the “invisible Admiral” due to his low profile, Grand Admiral Martio Batch’s career was, also fittingly, defined by his research into cloaking technology. Batch’s research resulted in the creation of the cloaked TIE Phantom starfighters, though the technology was lost during an engagement with the Rebel Alliance on Imdaar, leading Batch to flee into the Outer Rim. Sometime after the Battle of Endor, however, Batch’s crew turned on him, assassinating the Grand Admiral and joining Blitzer Harrsk’s Zero Command warlord faction.
16 Octavian Grant
Grand Admiral Octavian Grant was renowned for his tactical prowess and infamous for both his superior attitude towards non-nobility and prejudice towards droids and non-human organics. Grant managed to outlive most of his Grand Admiral colleagues following the Battle of Endor and briefly joined the Pentastar Alignment warlord faction, making him an ally of Grand Moff Ardus Kaine and the deadly Imperial Inquisitor Jerec. Before the Thrawn crisis, Grant defected to the New Republic and was pardoned for his war crimes. During Operation Shadow Hand, the former Grand Admiral opposed the Dark Empire and helped defeat his former ally, Ardus Kain, who remained loyal to the reborn Palpatine.
15 Josef Grunger
Thanks to his prowess as a fleet commander, Josef Grunger became one of the Empire’s original Grand Admirals. Following the Empire’s fractioning, however, Grunger immediately created his own warlord faction and declared himself the new Emperor. This inevitably put him at odds with not only the New Republic but also other Imperial warlords, including fellow Grand Admiral Danetta Pitta, who outfought Grunger at the Battle of Tralus, in which Grunger died upon ramming his Super Star Destroyer into Pitta’s flagship.
14 Ishin-Il-Raz
Once a fiercely loyal member of the Galactic Republic, Ishin-Il-Raz soon became defined by his fanatical devotion to Palpatine and the fascist, xenophobic, culture of the Galactic Empire. It was his devotion to Palpatine and the Galactic Empire that led him to become a Grand Admiral, as he notably lacked skill and experience in battle. Palpatine’s death at the Battle of Endor shattered Grand Admiral Ishin-Il-Raz, leading him to eventually commit suicide by flying his flagship into the Denarii Nova.
13 Peccati Syn
A highly spiritual member of the Galactic Empire, Peccati Syn became a Grand Admiral due to his strategic prowess. Fascinatingly, Syn remained part of the main Imperial faction (led by Sate Pestage and Ysanne Isard) following the Empire’s fracturing, instead of joining or establishing a warlord faction. Syn’s skills as a tactician were put to the ultimate test during the Liberation of Kashyyyk, in which he engaged Admiral Ackbar in a naval battle, resulting in Ackbar’s victory and Syn’s demise.
12 Miltin Takel
Despite his addiction to the highly dangerous spice variant glitterstim, Miltin Takel was a renowned military strategist, so much so that he became one of the original 12 Grand Admirals. Following the Battle of Endor, however, Takel opted to join the warlord faction of Trioculus, who falsely claimed to be the son of Emperor Palpatine. The two butted heads on multiple occasions, with one such incident resulting in Trioculus having Takel executed.
11 Osvald Teshik
Like most of the original 12 Grand Admirals, Osvald Teshik was among the Empire’s finest tacticians. Grand Admiral Teshik narrowly escaped the second Death Star before it detonated at the end of the Battle of Endor, and he continued to fight Rebel Alliance forces from his Imperial Star Destroyer for hours afterward, even as the other surviving Imperials fled the system. Teshik was eventually defeated and captured, however, resulting in his execution.
10 Rufaan Tigellinus
Rufaan Tigellinus was both a Grand Admiral and a Grand Moff due to his skill as a military leader and his influential position within the Imperial Court. Tigellinus was also a firm believer in the Empire’s prejudiced Human High Culture, leading him to attempt to undermine fellow Grand Admiral Thrawn (a Chiss) and Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa (a human/Sephi hybrid). Tigellinus’s efforts against Thrawn were unsuccessful and his clashes with Hissa resulted in his execution, despite his loyalty to Ysanne Isard’s Imperial faction.
9 Demetrius Zaarin
Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin attained his rank primarily through his research and development of Imperial TIE starfighters. Zaarin not only oversaw the creation of the TIE Avenger (based on Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced X1), but also the iconic and deadly TIE Defender. Despite his invaluable contributions, Zaarin would become the only Grand Admiral to die before the Battle of Endor, having attempted to overthrow Palpatine, an attempted coup that Thrawn thwarted.
8 Afsheen Makati
It is unknown why Afsheen Makati was chosen to become one of the original 12 Grand Admirals, as he lacked noteworthy connections, Force-sensitivity, ingenuity, or above-average talent as a tactician. Moreover, Makati had a long-running feud with the Supreme Profit Kadann, who was the original trilogy-era leader of the Prophets of the Dark Side (an Empire-aligned Sith splinter group). Makati remained loyal to Ysanne Isard and Sate Pestage’s mainstream Imperial faction after Palpatine’s first death and eventually died while attempting to maintain Imperial control over the Corporate Sector.
7 Danetta Pitta
Danetta Pitta was one of the Empire’s most bigoted and fanatical believers in Human High Culture. This zealotry earned Pitta the rank of Grand Admiral, but it was also a ploy to hide his partial Bornek and Etti ancestry. Following the Empire’s fracturing, Pitta became the Imperial warlord of the Corellian sector, but his rivalry with fellow Grand Admiral and warlord Josef Grunger ended with Pitta’s demise when his and Grunger’s respective flagships collided.
6 Harridax Kirill
While the origins and full meaning of the Grand Admiral rank in the Post–Great Hyperspace War Sith Empire is unknown, it is safe to assume that it, like its counterpart in the Galactic Empire, is one of its highest naval ranks. Harridax Kirill, nicknamed the “Voidwolf,” is one of the main antagonists in Star Wars: The Old Republic’s smuggler storyline. Kirill was previously a slaver, then a privateer, and then a genuine member of the Sith Empire’s navy, before meeting his end aboard his flagship during a battle in the Corellia system.
5 Rulf Yage
The true meaning of the Grand Admiral rank within the Fel Empire is, similarly, unknown, but there were at least two holders of the title in the Legends-era Star Wars: Legacy comics. One Grand Admiral was Rulf Yage, who became a prominent figure in the One Sith’s Imperial splinter faction. Yage eventually became disillusioned with the Sith and defected to the Empire-in-exile, fighting for them in the Second Imperial Civil War’s Battle of Coruscant.
4 Morlish Veed
Like his fellow Grand Admiral Rulf Yage, Morlish Veed once served the Fel Empire before becoming a major figure in the One Sith’s Empire. Unlike Yage, however, Veed continued to serve the One Sith, though his ultimate loyalty was only to himself. Veed also fought in the Battle of Coruscant, perishing at the hands of Morrigan Corde.
3 Rae Sloane
Rae Sloane appears in many of the Star Wars canon continuity’s various novels set during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Fascinatingly, Sloane attained the rank of Grand Admiral after Palpatine’s first death. Sloane’s Imperial remnant faction was eventually absorbed into the First Order, with Sloane appearing to keep the coveted Grand Admiral rank and title. While Sloane was expected to have become the leader of the First Order, the position was, ultimately, filled by Snoke, a strand-cast pawn of the reborn Palpatine.
2 Balanhai Savit
Aside from Thrawn, the only other member of the Galactic Empire’s original 12 Grand Admirals in the Star Wars canon continuity is Balanhai Savit, who appears in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Treason. Savit gained the Grand Admiral rank (and command of the Imperial Third Fleet) through his family’s strong political influence and used his position to attempt to undermine the development of the Death Star. Savit and the Third Fleet, ultimately, clashed with Grand Admiral Thrawn, resulting in Savit’s defeat and arrest.