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.
Continuous assistance
13:48 August 9, 2023
The H145 helicopters of the Hungarian Defence Forces have been providing assistance for two days in Slovenia, a country stricken by a major natural disaster.
New German defence attaché arrives to pay introductory call
11:46 August 9, 2023
On Tuesday, 8 August in Budapest, Major General Ferenc Kajári, Deputy Chief, Hungarian Defence Forces General Staff received in his office Lieutenant Colonel Uwe Zvonar, the outgoing German defence attaché, and Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Passbach, the incoming one.
Hungarian aid arrives in Slovenia
08:50 August 8, 2023
Two H145M helicopters of the Hungarian Defence Forces have flown to Slovenia to assist with the rescue efforts in the aftermath of one of the largest natural disasters in recent times, the Ministry of Defence informed Hungarian news agency MTI on Monday, 7 August.
Hungarian assistance for our Slovenian neighbors
08:43 August 8, 2023
“Our neighbors can always count on our help!” – wrote Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page, where he announced that the Hungarian Defence Forces are also participating in the ongoing rescue efforts in Slovenia, a country stricken by torrential rainfall.
Foreign trainers prepare at Hungarian NCO Academy
10:01 August 4, 2023
The International Training Branch of the HDF NCO Academy held a course for soldiers from Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina in July. The two foreign countries represented themselves with ten personnel each at the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) – Train the Trainer course.
Hungary stands by democratically elected Nigerien president
13:53 August 3, 2023
Hungary stands by Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president of Niger, announced Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page on Wednesday, 3 August.
Slovak recognition for the Hungarian support
08:38 August 2, 2023
On Monday, 31 July in Székesfehérvár, General Daniel Zmeko, Chief of the General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces presented a special recognition to Lieutenant General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of the General Staff of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and to CSM Zoltán Kaszab, Command Sergeant Major of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
New commander, unchanged objectives
11:24 August 1, 2023
Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C) has a new commander in the person of Brigadier General Tibor Králik. On Monday, 31 July Croatian Major General Denis Tretinjak passed the command to the Slovakian general in Alba Regia barracks, Székesfehérvár.
Hungarian parachute team on the rostrum
13:43 July 31, 2023
The national parachute team of the Hungarian Defence Forces continued its participation at the third venue of the accuracy landing Parachute World Cup Series in Klatovy, Czechia. This year, the series was organized for the first time in the Czech Republic, where the impressive venue called Skydive Pink Klatovy is known as the citadel of Czech parachuting.
Epochal change in the Hungarian Defence Forces
12:42 July 31, 2023
There is an epochal change going on in the Hungarian Defence Forces, and the development program enjoys social and budgetary support – emphasized Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on Friday, 28 July in Esztergom.