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.
Strengthening Hungarian–Romanian cooperation – together in KFOR
15:24 May 31, 2024
General Gábor Böröndi PhD, Chief of HDF General Staff and General Gheorghiţă Vlad, Chief of Defence Staff, Romanian Armed Forces talked about current military issues during a bilateral discussion at their border meeting held in the barracks of the HDF 30th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Hódmezővásárhely on 30 May.
We, Hungarians Want Peace!
17:25 May 30, 2024
We are indebted to heroes, but this debt should not be paid for mainly by memorials but by protecting what they gave their lives for; a free Hungary deciding its own fate – said Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky at the heroes’ plot 52 of the Fiumei Road Cemetery, Budapest on Sunday, 26 May.
The Achievements of our Troops are Internationally Recognised
13:30 May 30, 2024
“It is no exaggeration to say that the crown of a military career is serving in foreign missions, where everybody goes with the most state-of-the-art equipment currently in service with the Hungarian Defence Forces, following the highest-level pre-deployment training” – said Major General Zoltán Schmidt, Deputy Chief of HDF General Staff for Economic Affairs in Pákozd on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on 29 May.
American–Hungarian cooperation
12:21 May 30, 2024
“The exchange of lessons learned and joint exercising are important, but the biggest target that we started out with is enhancing the partnerships, relationships and friendships” between Hungary and the USA – said Brigadier General Matthew S. Woodruff after seeing the 28 May closing exercise of Valiant Panther 2024. The reservists of the Ohio National Guard and those of the hosting Transdanubian territorial defence regiment recently held an exercise in Újdörögd.
“Be Sentinels of Peace!”
16:29 May 29, 2024
On the second day of the 64th International Military Pilgrimage on 25 May, Hungarian and foreign pilgrims participated in a Marian candlelight procession, including Zsolt Barthel-Rúzsa, MoD State Secretary for the Control of Military National Security, and General Dr Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF General Staff.
At home again
12:51 May 29, 2024
Exercising in large formations integrated into NATO’s air power is of outstanding significance to the Hungarian air force in the interest of maintaining and further developing its operational capabilities. These international training opportunities provide occasions to retain high professional standards and to continuously develop our pilots’ skills.
Hungarian soldiers, German decoration
15:53 May 27, 2024
Staff Sergeant Zsolt Roland Sándor and Colonel (Ret.) János Csombók received German state decorations at Germany’s embassy in Budapest for the service they provided during the 2021 flooding. According to Germany’s ambassador to Budapest Julia Gross, who presented them with the recognitions, the Hungarian–German military cooperation shows the way forward.
The miracle goes on
15:44 May 27, 2024
The 64th International Military Pilgrimage officially began in the underground Basilica of St. Pius X, Lourdes, in the evening of Friday, 24 May. Since the opening ceremony, the members of the Hungarian delegation – among them, MoD State Secretary for the Control of Military National Security Zsolt Barthel-Rúzsa and General Gábor Böröndi PhD, Chief of the HDF General Staff – have walked down the Way of the Cross in Lourdes and attended a Hungarian-language Holy Mass and the concert of a military band.
From Ohio to Újdörögd
13:19 May 27, 2024
“We’re planning a long-term cooperation program with the Ohio National Guard. Our reservists are highly motivated by the prospect of Hungarian soldiers participating in an exercise to be organized in the USA in 2026” – said Captain István Németh in emphasizing the significance of Exercise Valiant Panther 2024. The commander of the training company of the 83rd Territorial Defence Battalion of the HDF Klempa Kálmán 7th Territorial Defence Regiment was talking about the 10-day maneuvers being conducted on the Újdörögd shooting range.
Next Hungarian astronaut has been selected!
13:14 May 27, 2024
The next Hungarian astronaut has been selected. Tibor Kapu may become the Hungarian to go to space –Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky recently announced on his social media page. The Hungarian Defence Forces have played a major role in preparing the astronauts.