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.
Holy Crown and warship – Special program for the Slovenian Head of State’s husband
18:53 April 20, 2023
As is usual in diplomatic protocol, the hosts organize cultural programs for the spouses of heads of state and government arriving for official visits in Hungary. On Wednesday, 19 April the House of Parliament and a minesweeper of the Hungarian Defence Forces provided a venue for such a program, that was, however, special this time.
“The armed defence of Hungary is every Hungarian’s cause”
18:47 April 20, 2023
In the evening of Tuesday, 18 April, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky held a lecture in Székesfehérvár with the title „The Hungarian Defence Forces’ responses to the challenges of a changed security environment” at the invitation of Parliamentary State Secretary and Deputy Defence Minister Tamás Vargha, the MP of the region.
Estonian–Hungarian consultation on the defence reform
08:28 April 19, 2023
On Tuesday, 18 April Lieutenant General Zsolt Sándor, Deputy Chief of General Staff, Hungarian Defence Forces received Estonia’s Ambassador to Budapest Raul Toomas in the Balaton Street building of the Ministry of Defence.
Future senior military leaders visit Naples
08:57 April 18, 2023
On 13 April, the students of the General Staff Course (KFSZTSZ-32) of the Faculty of Military Science and Officer Training, National University of Public Service (FMSOT NUPS) paid a visit to NATO’s Joint Force Command – Naples (JFC NP), as part of the South-European study tour of the course.
To remember is our task and our duty as well
13:10 April 17, 2023
“Like our forebears did once in the trenches of the Great War, today we, Croatians and Hungarians stand here again side by side in remembrance of our common officer, Marcell Szigethy Halper”, said Tamás Horváth, Head of Military Heritage Department, Ministry of Defence in Croatia on 15 April.
Memorial to the only French soldier killed in action in Hungary
12:54 April 17, 2023
In honor of the only French soldier killed in action in the area Hungary during the Second World War, a monume1nt is to be erected in French–Hungarian cooperation in Hungary.
FINABEL conference and jubilee anniversary
12:45 April 17, 2023
FINABEL, one of the most significant forums for European Land Force Commanders held its annual conference in Latvia in early April. The Hungarian Defence Forces were represented at the event by Colonel István Hajnal, Deputy Commander, HDF Land Component Command.
Egypt is our important friend and ally
12:42 April 17, 2023
On Friday, 14 April, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky held discussions with Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed Ibrahim El Shinawy in the Ministry of Defence.
Hungarian Chief of Defence visits Serbia
14:09 April 13, 2023
Lieutenant General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi PhD, Chief of General Staff, Hungarian Defence Forces recently paid a visit to Serbia. During his two-day program, he met with General Milan Mojsilović, Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces.
Attachés’ visit to Székesfehérvár
09:53 April 12, 2023
On 6 April, 19 members of the Budapest Military Attaché Corps (BMAC) visited Székesfehérvár to have an insight into the workings of the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C) and the Hungarian Defence Forces General Staff Joint Operation C2 Centre.