Grand Admiral Thrawn (native name: Mitth'raw'nuruodo; birth name: Kivu'raw'nuru) is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" franchise. Introduced in the 1991 Timothy Zahn novel "Heir to the Empire", he is an Imperial military commander who has taken control of the Galactic Empire's remaining forces five years after the events of the 1983 film "Return of the Jedi". Thrawn faces off against classic "Star Wars" characters Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian in the "Thrawn" trilogy (1991–1993), but is ultimately defeated. He is seemingly resurrected in the "Hand of Thrawn" duology (1997–98), and his backstory is explored in various other novels, short stories, comics, and video games in the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe.