Major General Zoltán Somogyi
15:53 July 18, 2023Major General Zoltán Somogyi was born on 27th February 1974 in Fehérgyarmat. He began his military service in August 1992 at the Military Command Collage in Szentendre. He graduated as an artillery officer with a BSc in Land Surveying Engineering in 1996. He served 8 years in a various artillery officer assignments including 4 years as Battery Commander within the HDF 5th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 5th Self Propelled Artillery Battalion in Debrecen. During his artillery officer carrier, he successfully completed the Battery Commander Course of the German Bundeswehr and gathered experiences also in the field of rocket artillery. In 2003 he was deployed to the position of the 2nd Company Commander of the Hungarian Guard and Security Battalion, KFOR Kosovo and in 2004 he assumed command of the Hungarian Guard and Security Contingent, KFOR Skopje.
In 2007, he was appointed to the position of Hungarian Joint Force Command J3 Staff Officer in Székesfehérvár and he was promoted to Major. In 2009, he was assigned as a Liaison Officer to the German Operations Command in Potsdam and to the German MOD Planning Staff in Berlin focused on Hungarian contribution to ISAF operation. In 2010, he graduated from the National Defense University with MSc degree in Military Leadership. In 2012 he graduated the 7th German National Joint Admiral and General Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command & Staff Collage in Hamburg. Following that, he was appointed to the position of the Military Assistant to the Chief of Land Forces of the Hungarian Joint Force Command and he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the Head of Combat Support Branch G3 HDF JFC.
During this assignment in 2013-2014 he was deployed for seven months to Afghanistan as a senior advisor and head of a brigade level advisory team. In 2016, he was assigned to the position of Chief G37 HDF Joint Force Command. In 2017, his next appointment was at HDF JFC where he held the post of Chief J3/ACOS Operations and was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
From August 2018 he started and led the planning project of Headquarters Multinational Division Centre. He was appointed to Chief of Staff of the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre on 01 June 2020 and he was promoted to his current rank on the 20th of August 2020.
12 May 2022 – 17 May 2023 he served as Chief of Staff of EUFOR Force HQ in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Since 15 July 2023 he has been assuming the position Director of the General Staff Hungarian Defence Forces.
He is married to his wife Beatrix and lives in Várpalota.
Personnel Recovery in Tempest
13:02 April 2, 2026
Three weeks spent in an uninhabited forested area, at most a couple hours of sleep on end, food deprivation for up to several days, shelter-building from one own’s equipment, water purification, practical shooting, close quarters combat – this is how Charlie, the top-level course in Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training can be summed up in a few words. During the course, Hungarian soldiers practiced air extraction in Csobánka on 30 March.
Tuned to Exercise
12:17 April 2, 2026
Preparation for Exercise Moonstar 2026 is still going on at the Hajdúhadház-based Vay Ádám Training and Exercise Area and Shooting Range. Reservists of the 5th Territorial Defence Battalion of the HDF 2nd Territorial Defence Regiment participated in a three-day training program to improve their marksmanship skills.
They have returned home from Bosnia and Herzegovina
12:09 April 2, 2026
“The performance you gave during your tour of duty abroad well exemplifies Hungarian military expertise and camaraderie” – this was how Brigadier General Zsolt Molnár praised the homecoming personnel of the 29th rotation of the HDF EUFOR Contingent. At their homecoming ceremony held in Szentes, the Depuy Commander (Land) of the HDF Joint Force Command (HDF JFC) handed over recognitions to soldiers returning home from their service in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Preparing for collective defence on Exercise Loyal Leda 2026
12:27 March 31, 2026
A significant number of Hungarian soldiers participated in NATO’s multinational Exercise Loyal Leda 2026, which served the operational training of the corps headquarters of the Alliance. Held between 3–12 March in the areas of nine allied member nations, the training event was controlled by the NATO Joint Force Training Centre located in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Target Destroyed
11:24 March 31, 2026
The crews of the 1st Grenadier Battalion’s 2nd company of the HDF 30th Mechanized Infantry Brigade have recently been forged on combat-like live fire exercises (LFX). The company had to react to enemy targets with its own crews according to the tactical situation, both day and night.
The Middle East is Still on Fire; We Can Feel the Effects Here as Well
13:21 March 27, 2026
Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky wrote on his social media page that, with regard to the current security situation, he had a discussion over the phone with the defence ministers of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, during which he was informed firsthand about the effects of the war in Iran, as well as its regional and global consequences.
Rearranging power relations, transforming warfare
12:58 March 27, 2026
The Space & Defense Festival has brought together in Budapest the key players of domestic and international defence and space industry. “The power relations are rearranging, and we must react to the transformation of warfare and the changing security situation” – emphasized General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF Defence Staff in his lecture. “To ensure their strategic autonomy, the establishment of proper space capability is indispensable for any country” – stated László Deme, MoD Deputy State Secretary for Force Development and Innovation in summing up the development of the armed forces.
Hungarian general assumes duties as DCOM EUFOR Operation Althea
15:59 March 23, 2026
Brigadier General Bálint Legoza has taken over the lead of EUFOR Operation Althea, the European Union’s peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the next months, two Hungarian generals will be serving concurrently in the leadership of the mission, as Brigadier General Tibor Szabó will be performing his duties as chief of staff until May.
In Alliance: German NATO bases in focus
14:33 March 23, 2026
Major General László Sticz PhD, National Military Representative of Hungary at the NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) recently visited logistic commands and commands responsible for air control tasks.
Hungarian officer attends air defence training in the USA
14:28 March 23, 2026
Lieutenant Milán Kacsmarik, an officer of the HDF 205th Air Defence Regiment recently participated in the Air Defense Artillery Basic Officer Leader Course (ADA BOLC) organized for US Air Defense Artillery (ADA) officers at the Fires Center of Excellence, Fort Sill army training base, Oklahoma, USA. The objective of the almost two-month training was to prepare young officers for their Air and Missile Defense (AMD) Platoon Leader position, while providing them with a comprehensive picture of the core leadership principles and professional tasks of this branch of service.