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.
Conference for the protection of the invisible operational domain
11:20 October 28, 2024
Thanks to the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, the EU Cyber Commanders Conference was recently organized in Hungary for the first time. The primary objectives of the event were to discuss current issues in the field as well as to identify the directions of its future development and the new targets for the capabilities to be generated. The series of lectures took place in the Bálna Defence Center, Budapest on 22 October.
Commemoration of 1956 in EUFOR
11:15 October 28, 2024
The Hungarian personnel of EUFOR recently commemorated the events of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence with a series of programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
International Exercise Brave Warrior Serves Defence of the Country’s Territorial Unity
13:02 October 25, 2024
International exercise Brave Warrior is meant to serve the defence of the country’s territorial unity and sovereignty, said Lieutenant Colonel Szabolcs Rácz, Deputy Brigade Commander at the media day of the exercise in Tótvázsony on Thursday, 24 October.
Commemoration Far from the Homeland
12:52 October 25, 2024
Hungarian soldiers serving in the NATO KFOR mission also commemorated the events of 1956. The commemoration was also attended by Béla Bozsik, Hungary’s ambassador to Kosovo, and Colonel Dr. Norbert Mohácsi, Commander of Camp Novo Selo. Following the speeches of the ambassador and First Lieutenant Zoltán Máthé, military chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel Tibor Dancs, Commander of the 31st rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent, handed over tokens of appreciations to the soldiers during the ceremony.
In blue smoke, through a window…
12:47 October 25, 2024
The combat readiness of the NATO multinational Forward Land Force Battle Group was evaluated during the international Exercise Brave Warrior. The evaluators observed the preparedness of the battle group in the course of tactical attacks in built-up areas, a complex tactical exercise as well as fighting in built-up areas (FIBUA).
Excellent and beautiful
16:39 October 24, 2024
The KC-390 Millenium is a two-engine, rear-ramp, new-generation, medium military transport aircraft designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The first KC-390 of the Hungarian Defence Forces is stationed at Kecskemét – it is an excellent and at once beautiful aircraft.
Our Military Athletes Won a Gold and a Bronze Medal
16:34 October 24, 2024
The 42nd World Military Judo Championship was hosted by Tashkent this year. In the capital city of Uzbekistan, 213 military athletes from 29 nations stood up on the tatami. From the four-member Hungarian delegation, Lance Corporal Roland Gőz won a gold medal in the 90kg category, while Corporal Brigitta Vargha won a bronze medal in the 63kg category.
Hungarian Gripens will continue safeguarding Slovakia’s airspace next year
11:44 October 24, 2024
Developing joint defence capabilities and mutual support are indispensable for preserving stability in Central Europe – said Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky after a bilateral discussion held with Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák in Kecskemét on 22 October.
Restoration After Flood
15:19 October 21, 2024
The military machinery offered by Hungary to Bosnia and Herzegovina arrived at Camp Butmir, which hosts the EUFOR Operation Althea, on the evening of 17 October. In the following period, the Hungarian military engineers – meeting the demand of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian authorities and coordinated by the EUFOR – participated in the elimination of damages caused by the flood and landslides.
Goodbye, Mi-17! Welcome, H225M!
15:08 October 21, 2024
The new H225M helicopter of the EUFOR Operation Althea was handed over ceremonially in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo on 17 October. The new and modern rotorcraft is replacing the Mi-17 helicopter serving in the mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina since January.