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.
Your browser does not support the video tag. 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.
