Grand Admiral / Legends Grand Admiral was a high naval rank . Around 3641 BBY , the rank of Grand Admiral was used by the Imperial Armada of the resurgent Sith Empire , with Harridax Kirill being the only known holder of the rank . However , by far the most famous Grand Admirals were those of the Galactic Empire , appointed by Emperor Palpatine during the Galactic Civil War in 2 BBY . Grand Admiral was one of the highest ranks in the Galactic Empire , outranking all other political and military personnel , including Moffs and Grand Moffs . Legally , no more than twelve men could hold the rank at any one time . History . Appointment . Appointed unexpectedly by Emperor Palpatine at the New Year Fete Week celebrations of 2 BBY , the twelve Grand Admirals were the most senior officers of the Imperial Navy and answered directly to the Emperor , or his authorized executors , in all matters . The creation of the rank was widely recognized as a means to increase the Emperor ' s direct control of the Imperial Military . The initial cadre of Grand Admirals , called the " Circle of Twelve " by Palpatine , consisted of Martio Batch , Nial Declann , Octavian Grant , Josef Grunger , Ishin - Il - Raz , Afsheen Makati , Danetta Pitta , Peccati Syn , Miltin Takel , Osvald Teshik , Rufaan Tigellinus , and Demetrius Zaarin . Numerous conspiracy theories were swapped within the Imperial Military as to the real reason for the Emperor ' s appointments : Grunger , Takel , Tigellinus and Teshik were respected strategists with years of experience as Fleet Admirals , and little opposition was heard to their appointments , but Declaan , Grant , Makati and Syn merely average flag officers who were considered odd choices for the rank . Zaarin and Batch were better known for their supervision of cutting - edge military research than battlefield victories . There was a cultural divide within the Grand Admirals as well : Il - Raz and Pitta were fanatical New Order partisans notable only for the ferocity of their politics ( and rumors swirled that Pitta had alien ancestry ) , while the Teshik family were Generationals that had dwelt in Anaxes ' Sirpar Hills for centuries . A few months before the Battle of Endor , Demetrius Zaarin attempted a coup against Emperor Palpatine , which was put down by forces led by Lord Darth Vader and the mysterious Chiss Vice Admiral Thrawn . After Zaarin ' s death , Thrawn was officially promoted to Grand Admiral as his replacement ( although other evidence suggests that the Chiss had , in fact , been promoted in secret at an earlier stage ) . Thereafter Thrawn was sent to continue his exploration mission in the Unknown Regions , and he was not present at Endor . After Endor . The Rebel Alliance accounted for all of the Grand Admirals , save Thrawn who they thought dead , in the first years after Endor . The historian Voren Na ' al remarked that had the Grand Admirals banded together immediately after Endor , the New Republic may have been snuffed out in its infancy . Owing to personal ambition , ill - chance , or madness , such an alliance never occurred . Declann had been killed at Endor , while Teshik had been captured after unsuccessfully trying to rally the fleet and fighting on alone . He was later executed by the New Republic for war crimes . Batch went into hiding after the failure of the Phantom TIE project , until his crew murdered him and defected to Warlord Blitzer Harrsk . Makati , Syn , Takel and Tigellinus continued to defend their areas of operations while waiting for guidance from Palpatine ' s successor : Syn was killed during Admiral Ackbar ' s liberation of Kashyyyk , while Makati died while trying to keep the Corporate Sector an Imperial possession . Takel and Tigellinus died after throwing their lot in with the Central Committee of Grand Moffs , which ended up doubting their loyalty and executing them . Grunger and Pitta set themselves up as warlords and ended up mutually perishing in a battle over control of the Corellian sector . Octavian Grant supported Grand Moff Ardus Kaine ' s breakaway Pentastar Alignment , while Ishin - Il - Raz went mad , attacking worlds in the Outer Rim Territories apparently at random until he died plunging his flagship into the Denarii Nova . Ultimately , Grand Admiral Grant was the only one of the original Circle of Twelve who survived , and defected to the New Republic on the condition that he be granted immunity for war crimes . Dubbed " the last Grand Admiral " , Grant was allowed to go quietly into retirement on Rathalay and the New Republic Intelligence Service considered the matter of the Grand Admirals closed . However , they remained unaware of " the thirteenth Grand Admiral " , Thrawn , who emerged from the Unknown Regions in 9 ABY to lead a devastating military campaign that nearly crippled the New Republic , doing so with all the skill and panache to be expected of his rank , until his assassination at the Battle of Bilbringi . Palpatine ' s Dark Empire appeared to have revived the rank before Thrawn ' s assassination , with meetings between the new circle of Grand Admirals taking place aboard the uncompleted " Eclipse " in drydock over Byss . Palpatine ' s own death seemed to have marked the final extinction of the college . Legacy . The prestige of the rank meant that a number of warlords like Zsinj and Admiral Larm , adopted some of the trappings of Grand Admiral ' s rank . After the signing of the Bastion Accords , the Council of Moffs revived this esteemed rank for Gilad Pellaeon , already Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet and head - of - state of the Imperial Remnant . As of the war with the Yuuzhan Vong , Pellaeon and the long - retired Grant were the only living Grand Admirals , although rumors persist that Pellaeon ' s mentor , Thrawn , somehow cheated death and remained active in the Unknown Regions . The rank appeared to have become synonymous with Supreme Commander as commander - in - chief of the Imperial military possibly as early as 28 ABY . Evidence exists of Pellaeon referring to himself by a longer form of the rank : " Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy " . Coupled with Moff Kurlen Flennic ' s threat to " appoint another Grand Admiral " in Pellaeon ' s place rather than appoint another Supreme Commander seems to indicate that the rank of Grand Admiral was increasingly becoming something of an honorific title of posting than a rank of military promotion . Indeed , by the Sith – Imperial War , the Fel Empire ' s form of the rank , held by Grand Moff Morlish Veed and also by Rulf Yage following the Massacre at Ossus , seems to have followed this trend . In Krayt ' s Empire the Grand Admiral was Joint - Supreme Commander alongside the Fist of the One Sith . Powers and position . Grand Admiral was one of the highest ranks in the Galactic Empire , besides the Emperor , the Supreme Commander , the Executor , and the Grand Vizier . The Grand Admirals were visually distinguished from other officers in the Imperial armed forces by their unique , stark white uniform , sometimes worn with gold epaulettes and rank insignia , sometimes without any badge of rank . There was a method behind the diversity of Palpatine ' s appointments to the rank : although all the Grand Admirals were exceptionally gifted officers , they were not just front - line commanders ; rather , they included several technical specialists and theoreticians , enabling them to serve as a leadership cadre for the whole Imperial Military — and indeed the whole Empire . Only Grant , Grunger , Syn and Tigellinus continued their regular naval service after their promotion , and of those , only Tigellinus was observed to benefit substantially from his new rank , becoming a Core Worlds Grand Moff . The other Grand Admirals were tasked with special projects or missions outside the regular naval service , such as Batch ' s Phantom TIE project to create starfighters equipped with cloaking devices and Zaarin ' s " Research " facility . It is unclear whether the Imperial Army or stormtrooper rank of Grand General was equivalent with the rank of Grand Admiral . Malcor Brashin held the title , but those few Grand Generals the Emperor appointed were largely honorary positions . Ysanne Isard , as Director of Imperial Intelligence , wore a red version of the Grand Admiral ' s uniform , and her power and position in the Imperial hierarchy could be considered analogous . Most references showed the insignia for a Grand Admiral as six blue squares with three yellow and three red ; an alternate version of the rank badge seen in some images displayed seven blue and red squares , with two code cylinders . At least one Grand Admiral was given the position of warlord upon achieving the rank ; the same was possibly true for the rest of the Grand Admirals as well . Behind the scenes . " Heir to the Empire " author Timothy Zahn introduced the rank of " Grand Admiral " for the villain of that novel , Grand Admiral Thrawn . Zahn wanted Thrawn to be a military leader rather than a political title - holder or darksider , but felt a normal Admiral would be too mundane . He therefore decided to use the title " Grand Admiral , " which he had encountered while reading " " in the context of its use in the .