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.
We are committed members of NATO
10:23 July 11, 2023
A good proof of our commitment is the Székesfehévár-based Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), an element of the NATO Force Structure that brings together soldiers from 11 countries and plays an outstanding role in connection with NATO’s eastern flank.
The most important task is to maintain peace and security
12:47 July 10, 2023
The soldiers of the Hungarian Defence Forces have taken an oath to defend those entrusted to them even at the cost of their lives, and this oath accompanies them in safeguarding the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people, as well as in performing the tasks required by international alliance systems.
Resources necessary for Hungary’s defence are secured in times of war as well
12:41 July 10, 2023
The resources necessary for the defence of our country are secured even in times of war, which means extraordinary spendings due to the ongoing war in our neighborhood – stated Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page on Saturday, 8 July.
Hungarian–Swedish staff discussions
09:30 July 6, 2023
On Wednesday, 5 July Swedish Major General Johan Pekkari, Chief of Directorate of Strategic Plans and Policy, Defence Staff, Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters paid a courtesy call to the Ministry of Defence, where he participated in staff discussions.
Hungarian–Japanese cooperation: military medicine in focus
09:26 July 6, 2023
On 4 July, a delegation from the Ministry of Defence of Japan and the Embassy of Japan in Hungary paid a visit to the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (NATO MILMED COE). The guests were received by Colonel Dr. László Fazekas, Director, NATO MILMED COE.
Hungary is a committed member of NATO
15:13 July 3, 2023
Hungary is a committed member of the NATO alliance system– stated Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky at the annual military diplomacy conference of military and air attachés held in Budapest on Monday, 3 July.
General’s visit to Iraq
16:08 June 30, 2023
Brigadier General Balázs Szloszjár, Commander, Hungarian Defence Forces General Staff Joint Operations Command and Control Centre (HDF GS JOCCC) recently paid a visit to the 16th rotation of the HDF Iraqi Training Support Contingent (HTSC-16).
Everything is in place for achieving Full Operational Capability
15:58 June 30, 2023
The Székesfehérvár-based Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C) and its support element demonstrated their preparedness on the international Exercise Strong Bastion 2023 in late June. The VIP Day of the large-scale event was held in Varaždin, Croatia on Thursday, 29 June with the attendance of Lieutenant General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of the HDF General Staff, his Croatian counterpart Admiral Robert Hranj and Slovakian Deputy Chief of Defence Major General Peter Babiar.
Nigerien Minister of Defence visits Szolnok
09:26 June 28, 2023
On Tuesday, 27 June Nigerien Defence Minister Alkassoum Indattou paid a visit to the HDF 86th Helicopter Wing in Szolnok.
Always in a team
10:54 June 27, 2023
On 22 June, during a Change of Command ceremony held on the Hungarian Defence Forces 47th Air Base in Pápa, Colonel Peter Söderström, the first Swedish commander of the Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW) passed over command to American Colonel Jason Mills.