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.
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Hungarian battalion battlegroup becomes multinational
15:36 March 25, 2022
NATO is deploying land forces to reinforce its defences on its eastern flank. Having attended an Extraordinary NATO Summit held in Brussels, Defence Minister Tibor Benkő spoke about the details in Budapest on 24 March.
Multinational initiative in international spotlight
07:20 March 22, 2022
Major General Denis Tretinjak, commander of Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C) gave a briefing to the Echelon of National Military Representatives of thirty NATO nations, at NATO Allied Command Operations in Belgium, on the establishment and current status of the headquarters.
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Extraordinary Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence
11:37 March 17, 2022
NATO Ministers of Defence held an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, 16 March. During the event, they reviewed the status of the initiatives aimed at strengthening NATO’s defence capabilities. In another working session of the meeting – held with the participation of NATO’s distinctive partners, including Ukraine –, they discussed issues relating to the security of NATO’s eastern frontiers.
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Hungarian expertise – at a (centre of) excellent level
08:31 March 17, 2022
With the participation of Hungarian instructors, the highest level course in NATO's Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) discipline was held at the NATO CIMIC Center of Excellence (CCOE) in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 21 February to 4 March. We asked one of the instructors, Lieutenant Colonel Tamás Harmath, Assistant Chief of Staff (non-kinetic) of Headquarters Multinational Division Centre, about the NATO CIMIC Higher Command Course and the situation in the civil-military cooperation domain.
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Eastern Shield: Our country is a committed ally
16:58 March 10, 2022
Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Major General Raimundo Rodriguez Roca, Deputy Chief of Staff Strategic Enablement of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and Admiral Robert Hranj, Chief of Defence of the Croatian Armed Forces saw certain phases of Operation Eastern Shield 2022 at several venues around Hungary on Wednesday, 9 March.
“Hungary is a committed ally”
16:46 March 10, 2022
On Wednesday, 9 March, a high-ranking delegation saw some phases of Operation Eastern Shield 2022 at several venues in Hungary.
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“Hungary is a committed ally”
16:45 March 10, 2022
On Wednesday, 9 March, a high-ranking delegation saw some phases of Operation Eastern Shield 2022 at several venues in Hungary.
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“NATO is a defensive alliance”
15:00 March 10, 2022
As Chair of the Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer (NLD N) is the principal military adviser to the Secretary General as well as provides military advice to the North Atlantic Council on behalf of the NATO Chiefs of Defence Staff. He also directs the Military Committee (NATO’s highest military authority), acts on its behalf and is the Committee’s spokesperson and representative. He started his assignment on 25 June 2021, and payed an official visit to Hungary in 8-9. March 2022.
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We must act far-sightedly in the time of the Russia–Ukraine war
14:08 March 8, 2022
On Monday, 7 March in Budapest, Defence Minister Tibor Benkő received Italian Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini on an official visit. The two ministers signed a letter of intent at their meeting.
Hungary and Italy are fighting together as allies for the security of our continent
13:53 March 8, 2022
Having been received by Defence Minister Tibor Benkő on an official visit in Budapest, Italian Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini spoke with appreciation about the Hungarian soldiers’ commitment to their tasks as well as about the assistance and support with which Hungary is receiving the Ukrainian refugees. During their meeting, the two ministers also signed a letter of intent on the further deepening of defence cooperation.