Tai - Lin Garr Tai - Lin Garr was a male New Republic senator in the years following the Galactic Civil War , representing his home planet of Gatalenta . As a member of the Populist faction in the Galactic Senate , Garr was a longtime friend of Leia Organa , a hero of the Rebellion and a prominent Populist senator within the New Republic . Garr was inaugurated into the new Senate immediately following its creation . Along with Organa , he was one of the only senators who had served in the new legislative body since its beginning . Twenty - four years into the New Republic ' s reign as the sole legitimate galactic government , the Senate had become fractured into various political factions , dominated by the opposition of the Populists and the Centrist party . While Garr and his allies wanted individual worlds to have greater freedom in their decision - making , the Centrists believed in a stronger central government , supported by a powerful military . In order to rein in the tensions rising between both factions , it was decided to elect a First Senator , a figurehead tasked with bringing order to the divided government . Although the Populists originally supported Leia Organa ' s candidacy , she was eventually forced to withdraw from the election when her parentage was revealed by Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo . Garr was nominated to replace her as the Populist candidate , but he was assassinated by Arliz Hadrassian before the election . Biography . New Republic senator . A native of the planet Gatalenta , Tai - Lin Garr was one of the first New Republic senator s to join the newly - formed Galactic Senate on Chandrila following the Battle of Endor . He would continue serving as Senator for the next twenty - four years . While on Hosnian Prime , he joined the Populist faction , which wanted individual worlds to retain considerable sovereignty . Tai - Lin gave a speech at a ceremony to dedicate a Jelucani fogstone statue to the memory of the late Bail Organa , a founding member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the adoptive father of Leia Organa , a prominent member of the Populist faction and former rebel leader . Following the ceremony he attended a banquet hosted by the Populist senator Varish Vicly . Political intrigue . After the Centrists , a rival faction that supported a stronger galactic government and military , successfully passed a motion urging the Senate to create a new powerful position called First Senator , Tai - Lin and several other Populist attended a function at the home of Varish Vicly . He admitted he was badly shaken by the vote which he attributed to the charisma of Leia ' s Centrist ally Ransolm Casterfo , a junior senator from Riosa . Despite his initial opposition to First Senator , he urged his fellow Populists to consider standing for that office in order to prevent a Centrist from holding that role . In the end , he nominated his friend Organa for First Senator . Several days later , Tai - Lin Garr and Leia walked to the Senatorial conference building for an early breakfast meeting . When Leia expressed her reluctance to serve as First Senator , Tai - Lin reassured her that she was the best Populist candidate . When Leia expressed a desire to spend more time with her husband Han Solo and son Ben , Tai - Lin understood her sentiments and asked whether she would have ever considered following her brother Luke Skywalker ' s path by becoming a Jedi . Leia responded by stressing that her career was in politics . Upon entering the building , they were greeted by Vicly . Before they could settle down for business , Leia discovered a handwritten message on her napkin telling her to " Run . " Leia evacuated the building shortly before a bomb destroyed half the conference building . Tai - Lin and Leia escaped unharmed but Varish suffered several broken bone s . Following the so - called " Napkin Bombing " , the Populists and Centrists began blaming each other for the bombing . Standing by a friend . Senator Tai - Lin later attended a Senate hearing to consider Senator Organa ' s nomination for First Senator . The hearing was upstaged by Casterfo , who revealed that Leia was the daughter of the infamous Imperial enforcer Darth Vader . When Leia reluctantly confirmed that this allegation was true , the Senate was thrown into uproar . While most of the Senate rejected Leia , Tai - Lin and Varish were among the few to remain loyal to her . While Varish read forth the entire New Republic constitutional passage declaring that nobody should be punished for the crimes of their parents , Garr submitted a motion calling for his fellow Populists to affirm their respect and loyalty for Leia ' s individual accomplishments . Garr later visited Organa ' s office to comfort her . While sympathetic , he still told Leia that she should have told him or Varish about her parentage . With an angry crowd baying outside , Leia responded that the public uproar was the reason why she had kept this secret for the past twenty - four years . Tai - Lin responded that it would have been safe to disclose this information to her closest friends and allies in the Senate . However , he responded that Leia should never have allowed the Populists to nominate her as their candidate for First Senator . He feared that Leia ' s mistake had damaged the Populist cause . However , he reaffirmed his friendship for Leia . When Leia later addressed the Senate to confirm her ancestry as the daughter of Vader and to withdraw her nomination for First Senator , Tai - Lin supported Organa when the Centrist Senator Lady Carise Sindian cast doubt on the character of Leia ' s brother Jedi Master Skywalker . Unknown to most people , Lady Carise was a clandestine agent of the First Order who was secretly subverting the Republic . She had been responsible for uncovering Leia ' s parentage and manipulating Casterfo into discrediting Leia . Addressing the Senate , Tai - Lin vouched for Luke ' s character and record as a member of the Rebellion . The Senate then gave Leia leave from her senatorial duties . First Senator and assassination . Following Leia ' s mission to Sibensko which exposed Rinnrivin Di ' s cartel ' s linkages to a paramilitary group called the Amaxine warriors , Tai - Lin attended a function at Varish ' s residence . He met Leia and discussed the Senate ' s reason decision to grant Organa a hearing on her investigation . Since Casterfo had voted for her to speak , he shared his fears that Casterfo was setting her up to fail given his role in the revelations of her parentage . Leia reassured him that she did not have anymore secrets to hide . Leia then vouched for Casterfo and told Tai - Lin about his important role in her investigation . When Garr remarked that Leia had more faith in Casterfo ' s honor than he did , she responded that she was uncertain . At that point , Varish announced to the other guests that Tai - Lin would be the new Populist nominee for First Senator . The various Populist senators then spent the next hour congratulating and chatting with Tai - Lin . When Leia was able to talk to him , he told her that he had nominated himself for First Senator in order to render the role irrelevant and to prevent a Centrist from occupying the office . Ten days later , Tai - Lin embarked on his first campaign rally in one of Hosnian Prime ' s parks . He was accompanied by Leia and Varish . While Tai - Lin was interacting with the crowd , he was shot in the heart by Arliz Hadrassian , the leader of the Amaxines who had come to exact revenge for the events on Sibensko . Hadrassian then killed herself before she could be taken into custody . Leia tended to the fallen Tai - Lin only to discover that he had died . Legacy . Following Tai - Lin ' s assassination , the Senate unanimously declared an official period of mourning for the fallen senator . Several of his Populist colleagues including Leia and Varish attended a memorial service to honor his memory . Most New Republic senators and the media believed that Arliz Hadrassian had been the primary instigator of the Napkin Bombing , the Amaxines , and Rinnrivin ' s cartel . In truth , his assassin ation had been engineered by Lady Carise as a means of eliminating a strong Populist opponent and to discredit Casterfo , who had earned her ire for supporting Leia during her last Senate speech . She then fabricated evidence linking Casterfo to Hadrassian thus making him complicit in the death of Tai - Lin Garr and the Amaxine warrior crisis . After learning what Lady Carise had done , Leia convinced the Elder Houses to strip the aristocrat of all her titles . Disillusioned with the Senate ' s complacency and bickering , Leia established a paramilitary outfit called the Resistance to protect the New Republic . Personality and traits . As a native of the planet Gatalenta , Tai - Lin Garr was known throughout political and social circles for his preternaturally calm demeanor and his trademark scarlet cloak . As a staunch Populist , Tai - Lin Garr believed that individual member worlds should wield most of the sovereignty in the New Republic . He was suspicious of the Centrists , who supported a stronger central government and military . Despite his staunch opposition to the Centrist proposal for First Senator , he later ran for that office in order to prevent a Centrist from occupying it and to render that position irrelevant . Tai - Lin was a loyal friend of Leia who respected his fellow Senator for her contributions to the Rebellion and the New Republic . Like Varish , he believed that Leia should not be stigmatized because of the crimes of her father , Darth Vader . However , he was upset that Leia had not told him about her true parentage . As a Populist , he believed that her revelation damaged the Populist cause . Tai - Lin also had a great deal of respect for Leia ' s brother Luke Skywalker , a former rebel who had become a Jedi Master , and vouched for his character on one occasion . Behind the scenes . Tai - Lin Garr first appeared in the 2016 novel " Bloodline " , written by Claudia Gray . Most of his lines are told through the point of view of the main protagonist , Leia Organa . While writing the novel , Gray mentally pictured Garr as being portrayed by .