Necdet Özel

General Necdet Özel (born 1950) is a Turkish Army general, who served as the 28th Chief of the General Staff[1] of the Turkish Armed Forces. He also served as the commander of the Turkish Land Forces. General Necdet Özel is only the second in this position not to have NATO experience.[2]

Necdet Özel
28th Chief of the General Staff
In office 30 July 2011 – 18 August 2015
President	Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded by	Işık Koşaner
Succeeded by	Hulusi Akar
Personal details
Born	1950 (age 69–70) Ankara, Turkey
Spouse(s)	Neriman Kamuran Özel
Children	1
Awards
Military service
Allegiance	Turkey
Branch/service	Turkish Armed Forces
Years of service	1969–2015 (46 years)
Rank	General
Commands	Chief of the General Staff Commander of Land Forces Commander of Gendarmerie 2nd Army Command Aegean Army Command Training and Doctrine Command 7th Corps Command 39th Mechanized Infantry Command Chief of Internal Security Operations 172nd Armored Brigade Command 17th Infantry Regiment Command

Early life and education

Özel was born in 1950 in Ankara. He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy in 1969 and the Infantry School in 1970. In 1975 he attended the London School of Economics for post graduates studies in International Diplomacy.

Military career

Özel served as a platoon leader and company commander in various units of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) until 1978. Following his graduation from Army War College in 1980 as a staff officer, he respectively served as Operations Plan Officer at Turkish Peace Forces HQ in Cyprus, Branch Chief and then as the Secretary General at the General Secretariat of Turkish Land Forces, Chief of Staff at the Turkish Military Academy, and as the Commander of the 17th Infantry Regiment.

Having promoted to Brigadier General in 1995, he served as the Commander of the 172nd Armored Brigade and as the Chief of Internal Security Operations Department, TLFC.

After his promotion to Major General in 1999, he assumed the command of the 39th Mechanized Infantry Division and of the Army War College.

High command

In 2003, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and served as the Commander of the 7th Corps and then as the Deputy Commander of Training and Doctrine Command, TLFC.

As a General, he served as the Commander of Aegean Army between 2007–2008, as the Commander of the 2nd Army between 2008–2010, and as the Commander of Gendarmerie between 2010–2011. After serving as the Commander of TLFC and as the Acting Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces between 29 July and 4 August 2011, he assumed the command of Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) on 4 August 2011. Between 4 August 2011 and 18 August 2015, he served as the 28th Chief of the Turkish General Staff, succeeded by Hulusi Akar.[3]

Personal life

Özel is married to Kamuran Özel. They have one child.

References

1. "Biography of the Commander". Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
2. Bozkurt, Abdullah (2011-07-31). "Profile of Necdet Özel: An army man with strong democratic credentials". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 2011-07-31. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
3. "Orgeneral Hulusi Akar bu mesajla göreve başladı". Habertürk (in Turkish). 2015-08-19. Retrieved 2015-08-19.

External links

• Necdet Ozel biography (Turkish Armed Forces)(in Turkish)

Military offices
Preceded by Avni Atila Işık	Commander of the Turkish Gendarmerie 24 August 2010 – 29 July 2011	Succeeded by Bekir Kalyoncu
Preceded by Erdal Ceylanoğlu	Commander of the Turkish Army 29 July 2011 – 4 August 2011	Succeeded by Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu
Preceded by Işık Koşaner	Chief of the General Staff of Turkey 4 August 2011 – 18 August 2015	Succeeded by Hulusi Akar