Major General Zoltán Somogyi
15:53 July 18, 2023Brigadier 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.
Continuing Croatian–Hungarian Dialogue on Defence Policy
13:12 July 3, 2025
On 26 June, Ministry of Defence (MoD) Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy László Hajnik paid an official visit to Zagreb. The aim of the meeting was to continue the dialogue on defence policy conducted in Budapest this February.
Infantry Day in Sarajevo
12:26 July 1, 2025
To mark the day of St. Ladislaus I, the patron saint of infantry soldiers, sports competitions were held in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, organized by the Hungarian company and staff personnel of the EUFOR Multinational Battalion.
Hungarian pride, international attention
12:52 June 30, 2025
This year, representatives of eight countries attended the European Defence Industry Holding KNDS – HUN Simulation &Training User Group Meeting held in the barracks of the HDF 1st Armored Brigade in Tata, Hungary. The choice of the venue is no accident, as the Tata simulation centre of the Hungarian Defence Forces is a world-class facility.
Hungarian Military Athletes on Top of the World
10:59 June 30, 2025
Congratulations! – wrote Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page to mark the performance of the 14 military athletes who represented Hungary and the Hungarian Defence Forces at the 1st World Military Martial Arts Championship in Warendorf, Germany, in judo, wrestling and taekwondo.
Digital interoperability in the crosshairs
15:30 June 23, 2025
Held in Poland between 2 and 20 June, NATO’s largest digital interoperability exercise, Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXploration, eXperimentation, eXamination eXercise 2025 (CWIX25) saw a record-breaking number of participants.
Special Operations from the Air
15:25 June 23, 2025
Special Operations Forces (SOF) operators and the assigned personnel of the Ludovika University of Public Service have recently participated in a large-scale international training event in the United Kingdom. The exercise’s objective was to strengthen interoperability among air and land units during special operations.
Hungarian military doctor appointed Chief JMED at NATO Allied Command Operations
12:51 June 23, 2025
One of the highest-level medical director positions in NATO is now filled by a Hungarian military doctor again, in the person of Colonel Dr. (MD) Péter Vekszler.
Hungarian Torrent of Medals at the Canoe Sprint European Championships
11:46 June 23, 2025
“Military athletes of the HDF Sports Company have represented Hungary and the Hungarian Defence Forces with a fascinating performance. Congratulations!” – wrote Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page on 21 June.
Appreciation from the Americans
11:23 June 23, 2025
In the video posted on the social media page of Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Lieutenant General Charles Costanza, Commanding General of V Corps, talked about the Hungarian Defence Forces with appreciation.
Sharing Hungarian and German lessons learned in logistics
12:58 June 19, 2025
In many aspects, the German–Hungarian relations have outstanding importance, among others because a significant portion of Hungary’s defence industry procurements comes from Germany – declared Major General Zoltán Schmidt, Deputy Chief (Economic Management) of the HDF Defence Staff, who received Lieutenant General Gerald Funke, Commander, Bundeswehr Support Command on his two-day professional visit to Hungary.