Necip Torumtay (1926 – 28 August 2011) was the 20th Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey.

Career

He graduated

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...

with the rank of second lieutenant in 1944, and in 1946, he graduated the Army Artillery School. He served in various artillery units and later as an instructor at the artillery school. In 1954, Torumtay became a staff officer following his further education in the academy. Until 1970, he served at various units and then in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan as a military attaché. In 1970, Necip Torumtay was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He became a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 1974. Four years later, he was appointed

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, and finally in 1982

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

. As a brigadier general, he was vice-commander of the 1st Armoured Division, Commander 2nd Armoured Brigade, and Head of the Operations Plan Department at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is t ...

, as a major general he was Genelkumay Plan of Operations Department and the Commander 4th Infantry Division, as a lieutenant general, Commander of the

Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces The Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command ( tr, Kıbrıs Türk Barış Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı) is the Turkish garrison in Cyprus. In 1974 Turkish troops invaded Cyprus following a Greek Cypriot coup d'état (organized and supported by the Gr ...

, General Staff Operations (J3) Head of the General Staff General Plans and Policy (J5). In the era following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, Necip Torumtay held important top positions within military circles. On 2 July 1987, Necip Torumtay was appointed as the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, and shortly after on 24 July he became the Chief of the Turkish General Staff. He resigned on 3 December 1990 before his term of office ended. He is the first chief of staff who resigned his post before the end of office in the history of Turkish Republic. It was asserted that his resignation was due to the government's position on the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

(2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991). It was told that he was strongly opposed to President

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

's stance in favor of joining the coalition forces in the war against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. On 24 June 2011, Necip Torumtay suffered symptoms of

coronary artery spasm Coronary vasospasm refers to when a coronary artery suddenly undergoes either complete or sub-total temporary occlusion. In 1959, Prinzmetal et al. described a type of chest pain resulting from coronary vasospasm, referring to it as a variant form ...

during his stay at the

Aksaz Naval Base Aksaz Naval Base ( tr, Aksaz Deniz Üssü) is a base of the Turkish Navy on the south-east coast of the Aegean Sea in Marmaris, Muğla. In addition to the military buildings, the base houses apartment-like barracks and social facilities stretche ...

Marmaris Marmaris () is a port city and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in Muğla Province, southwest Turkey, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera. Although Marmaris is known for its honey, its main source of income is internationa ...

, and was transferred to the Gülhane Military Hospital, Ankara, by an

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

. He died on August 28, 2011, in the same hospital. He was married with Türkan Torumtay, who outlived her husband and the couple had three children. Necip Torumtay was decorated with the

Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Üstün Hizmet Madalyası) was first created on July 27, 1967 and took its current form on July 29, 1983. Technical specifications General Five large and five sma ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torumtay, Necip 1926 births People from Vakfıkebir 2011 deaths Turkish Army generals Commanders of the Turkish Land Forces Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Recipients of the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service