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.
German armored troops at Tata
11:21 May 30, 2023
As part of the German–Hungarian land forces cooperation, Brigadier General Björn F. Schulz, Commander, Bundeswehr Panzertruppenschule (Armored Troops School) recently arrived in Hungary and paid a visit to the HDF 1st Armored Brigade in Tata on 24 May.
Hungarian troops are standing their ground in NATO’s Kosovo peacekeeping mission
11:17 May 30, 2023
Hungarian soldiers were also taking part in dispersing a crowd in Kosovo. In the afternoon of Monday, 29 May, the nominated soldiers of the Hungarian Defence Forces serving with NATO’s peacekeeping force were deployed at the town hall in Zvecan, Kosovo.
Military medical team leaves for Kosovo
11:14 May 30, 2023
In the evening of 29 May, an Airbus A319 aircraft of the Hungarian Defence Forces specifically converted for air ambulance operations took off from Kecskemét air base to provide medical care for the Hungarian soldiers who had been injured in the crowd riot control task ordered at Zvecan, Kosovo, and to return them home if necessary. Major General Ferenc Kajári, Deputy Chief, HDF General Staff also accompanies the military doctors on board.
Observers on air reconnaissance exercise
11:56 May 24, 2023
The international students participating in the 42nd International Military Observer Course (IMOC) recently practiced air reconnaissance. The course is running in the HDF Peace Support Training Centre (HDF PSTC) between 8-26 May.
Hungary considers ceasefire the only way to end the war
11:49 May 24, 2023
Instead of arms supplies, Hungary considers ceasefire the only way to end the war, stated Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in Brussels on Tuesday, 23 May.
Military attachés at the HDF Military Port
16:26 May 22, 2023
On 17 May, the military attachés accredited to Hungary paid a visit to the HDF 1st EOD and Riverine Guard Regiment. Several interesting programs awaited the members of the delegation at the HDF Military Port.
The peace of our region comes first
16:20 May 22, 2023
On 17–18 May, MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy László Hajnik received in Budapest Predrag Bandic, Acting Assistant Minister of Defence Policy of the Serbian Ministry of Defence.
The brave are going on exercise
16:13 May 22, 2023
More than 1000 troops from four nations are participating in Exercise Brave Warrior 2023. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-week event held on 21 May, Brigadier General Gábor Lőrincz, Commander, HDF Land Component Command welcomed the lined-up troops at Újmajor Base (Camp Croft).
Commemorating the greatest glory
16:04 May 22, 2023
On Sunday, 21 May, the participants of an event held in Buda Castle – organized on the occasion of the Day of the Hungarian Defence Forces and coupled with wreath-laying and cannon shots – commemorated the 174th anniversary of the recapture of Buda Castle.
The peace of the Western Balkans is the security of Hungary
13:03 May 18, 2023
On Wednesday, 17 May, according to a yearslong tradition, this year’s handover-takeover of the chief of staff positions of EUFOR Operation ALTHEA and NATO Headquarters Sarajevo (NHQ Sa) took place at a joint ceremony held in the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Lieutenant General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of General Staff, Hungarian Defence Forces was also present at the event organized in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo.