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.
“I’m starting the vehicle check!”
14:00 November 10, 2023
A Turkish soldier dismounts the Croatian MRAP armored personnel carrier, and after thoroughly checking the vehicle, signals to his comrade: he, too, can dismount. It doesn’t take long until the two of them secure the terrain – with increasingly precise moves, thanks to a lot of practice.
Türkiye is a vital strategic partner for Hungary
13:56 November 10, 2023
Türkiye is a vital strategic partner for Hungary, and our military-to-military and defence relations go back a long time – said Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky after holding a discussion with the Turkish minister of defence in Budapest on Thursday, 9 November.
Hungarian Defence Forces conduct complex exercise to strengthen country defence
13:06 November 9, 2023
Speaking in the program “Napi Aktuális” of Hungarian television channel Hír TV on the day of starting the multinational countrywide Exercise Adaptive Hussars 2023, General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of the HDF General Staff said that during this exercise – the largest one in Hungary over the past 30 years – the Hungarian Defence Forces are mobilizing their reserve as well. In accordance with NATO plans, they are training for military operations that involve Alliance forces stationed in Hungary, and are cooperating with Hungarian civil administration to test its capabilities and level of preparedness.
Hungary’s NATO membership guarantees its security
12:53 November 9, 2023
Security is of key importance to Hungary and the Hungarian people, and the country’s membership in NATO guarantees its security as well as that of the wider region, stated President of Hungary Katalin Novák, Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian Defence Forces at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 8 November.
Commemoration in Belgrade of soldiers fallen in the First World War
12:02 November 8, 2023
On 6 November, organized by the Defence, Military and Air Attaché Office of the Hungarian Embassy in Belgrade, a commemoration took place in Novo Groblje cemetery, Belgrade, in memory of those Austrian and Hungarian soldiers who had fallen in the First World War.
Largest military exercise of the past 30 years starts in Hungary
11:34 November 8, 2023
The multinational countrywide military exercise Adaptive Hussars 2023 has started. The opening ceremony held in Hódmezővásárhely on 7 November was attended by President of Hungary Katalin Novák, Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian Defence Forces; Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky; and General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF General Staff.
Parliament approves sending of Hungarian military mission to Chad
11:19 November 8, 2023
On 6 November the National Assembly of Hungary approved the sending of a military mission in Chad, in the framework of which a maximum of 200 troops would serve in the African country starting from the spring of 2024.
Wreaths laid in memory of soldiers fallen on Hungarian soil
10:19 November 3, 2023
“Here lie next to each other Turks, Bulgarians, Poles, Italians, Romanians and Hungarians, among others”, this was said on 2 November in the Budapest New Public Cemetery at a funerary wreath-laying ceremony organized by the MoD Department of Military Heritage on the occasion of All Souls’ Day, in memory of Hungarian and foreign soldiers who had fallen on Hungarian soil.
Hungary to hold joint NATO military exercise in November
10:14 November 3, 2023
In November 2023, under the name “Adaptive Hussars 2023”, the Hungarian Defence Forces are going to hold a multinational domestic military exercise with the participation of NATO forces in order to test the defence capabilities of the country. In the coming weeks, the Hungarian Defence Forces will be carrying out military operations on several spots around the country, with the objective of strengthening cooperation between the HDF and the civilian public administration”, announced Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
Armed forces development goes on in full swing
10:46 November 2, 2023
“The production of Gidrán combat vehicles is about to start in Győr”, announced Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky at his press conference held in the Ministry of Defence in Budapest on Tuesday, 31 October.