Tawkanal was a male trinae Tezwan who served in the Assembly as a member of the Gatni party and became Deputy Prime Minister in 2379.

Tawkanal had served as Minister of State and thus was third in the line of succession , but when Prime Minister Kinchawn began systematically moving trinae out of power, he was given the new position of minister of the arts - a move that he was still vocally upset with.

Bilok had personally mentored Tawkanal throughout his career which is why he was trusted enough to be invited to the Gatni war council that Bilok called where it was decided that they would attempt to overthrow Kinchawn and his government.

After surviving an assassination attempt, he joined Bilok and the other surviving Gatni ministers in entering Kinchawn's then vacated office and surrendering to the Federation on behalf of Tezwa. Now Prime Minister Bilok soon appointed Tawkanal as his new Deputy Prime Minister. After one month on the job, Bilok noted that Tawkanal's golden-brown crest and nape feathers had started to show signs of graying. (TNG novels: A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal)