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.
Challenges from the south in focus
16:46 September 30, 2021
A delegation headed by MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy Dr. Gergely Németh paid a professional visit to Allied Joint Force Command Naples on 23–24 September.
The Strategic Compass and capability development
16:40 September 30, 2021
On 28 September, the Ministry of Defence and the EU Institute for Security Studies (EU ISS) organized a virtual workshop on the topic of the future of capability development in the European Union.
Command Senior Enlisted Leader relinquishes position at NATO Allied Command Transformation
12:10 September 30, 2021
A change of responsibility ceremony was held in Norfolk on 29 September; having completed his three-year service, Command Sergeant Major Tibor Bogdán, Command Senior Enlisted Leader at NATO Allied Command Transformation (NATO ACT) relinquished his position to Command Chief Master Sergeant Brion P. Blais, U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Philippe Lavigne was also present at the event.
Hungarian and Swedish defence policy directors consult in Budapest
13:25 September 29, 2021
Dr. Gergely Németh, Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy of the Ministry of Defence received Swedish Defence Policy Director Johan Lagerlöf on a working visit. Their meeting took place in Budapest on 28 September, in the interest of discussing in detail the tasks identified during earlier Hungarian–Swedish bilateral consultations.
NATO Doctrine Developers in Budapest
16:27 September 28, 2021
The NATO Allied Joint Doctrine Development Course started in Budapest on Monday, 27 September. Organized by the HDF Transformation Command, the four-day course provides training for NATO doctrine custodians and developers.
Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Defence Forces meets Czech military attaché
14:27 September 24, 2021
On the occasion of his introductory visit, Major General Libor Jílek, the Czech military attaché accredited to Hungary was received by Lieutenant General Zoltán Mihócza, Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian Defence Forces Command, on Wednesday morning, 22nd September.
Military attachés in Székesfehérvár and Szentendre
14:22 September 24, 2021
With the alleviation of the epidemic situation, after a long time, Military Attachés accredited to Hungary had an opportunity to visit military organizations again on 15th and 16th September.
HDF CSEL visit to HQ MND-C
17:34 September 23, 2021
CSM Zoltán Kaszab, Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the Hungarian Defence Forces, visited the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), for the first time, on 23 September. CSM Kaszab was received by Major General Denis Tretinjak, commander, and CSM Mario Mateljic, CSEL of the Division HQ.
Recognition for the building of bilateral relations
15:27 September 17, 2021
On 17 September in the Ministry of Defence, Budapest, Defence Minister Dr. Tibor Benkő presented the gold grade of the Service Medal of Merit decorated with laurel wreath to Major General Dr. Johann Frank, former Defence Policy Director of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence for the building and deepening of Austrian–Hungarian military-to-military relations and successful cooperation.
A glimpse into the future of the Bundeswehr
19:07 September 16, 2021
Lieutenant General Alfons Mai held an interactive lecture in the framework of an introductory visit at the Faculty of Military Science and Officer Training of the National University of Public Service on 15 September. The Chief of the German Army allowed a glimpse into the future of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.