During the Clone Wars, a human male named Nils Tenant held the position of rear admiral within the Galactic Republic's naval forces. Following the end of the war, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire and declared himself Emperor; Tenant remained in service, becoming an admiral in the navy. Through the support of his associate Wilhuff Tarkin, Tenant achieved the rank of Joint Chiefs within the Imperial Military by 14 BBY.
As a young man, Nils Tenant was a student at the Sullust Sector Spacefarers Academy. Graduates from this academy typically found employment in local system navies, as commercial pilots, or within the Judicial Department of the Galactic Republic. While studying at the academy, he formed a friendship with Wilhuff Tarkin, an Eriaduan who previously worked for the Outland Regions Security Force. Eventually, Tenant enlisted in the Republic's naval forces. As a navy officer, he participated in the Clone Wars, a conflict lasting three years between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
During the war, Tenant was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and given command of a Venator-class Star Destroyer. While on patrol in the Chrelythiumn system, situated far beyond the Outer Rim of the galaxy, Tenant and his crew detected a mysterious transmission. The message was discovered to contain a distress code that had been abandoned by the Jedi Order over 2,000 years prior. Consequently, the admiral relayed the message to Coruscant, the planet where the Jedi High Council maintained its headquarters. Following this, the Council sent a team to investigate the origin of the transmission.
After the Clone Wars concluded, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Republic proclaimed himself Emperor, abolishing the democratic system of government and replacing it with his [Galactic Empire](/article/galactic_empire]. Nils Tenant remained in service within the newly formed Imperial starfleet, now holding the rank of admiral, and was initially assigned to pacification duties. In 14 BBY, Tenant was summoned back to Coruscant to attend a Joint Chiefs meeting. During this event, he reunited with his friend Wilhuff Tarkin. Subsequently, shifts within the Imperial Military resulted in Tenant's promotion to the Joint Chiefs, a direct consequence of Tarkin's influence.
Nils Tenant was a human male with fair skin, brown hair, a prominent nose, blue eyes, and a mouth with full lips that turned downward.
As a veteran of the Clone Wars, Tenant disliked his pacification assignments and desired to return to active combat roles. Despite his friend Wilhuff Tarkin's belief in his competence, Tenant was willing to leverage their connection to gain favor with the Emperor. This boldness ultimately paid off when he was appointed to the Joint Chiefs.
Nils Tenant made his debut in the newsreel introduction to "Overlords," the fifteenth episode of Season Three of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television show, which was broadcast on January 28, 2011. Although he was not named on screen, the episode's official online guide identified him as "Tenant." His first name, Nils, was revealed in Tarkin, a novel penned by James Luceno, which was released on November 4, 2014.