Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu (born Hüseyin Kıvrık, 1934) is a retired

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

general who was the commander of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

and on August 30, 1998, became

Chief of the Turkish General Staff , body = , flag = Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg , flagsize = 125px , flagcaption = Flag of the Chief of the General Staff , insignia = Turkey-army-OF-9.svg , insigniasize = 50px , insigniacaption = Shoulder insigni ...

for a four-year term.

Biography

Born in

Bozüyük Bozüyük is a town and district of Bilecik Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. Features Bozüyük is the biggest town in Bilecik Province. The district has an area of and borders İnegöl to the west, Pazaryeri to the northwest, Bileci ...

Bilecik Province Bilecik Province ( tr, ) is a province in midwest Turkey, neighboring Bursa to the west, Kocaeli and Sakarya to the north, Bolu to the east, Eskişehir to the southeast and Kütahya to the south, spanning an area of 4,307 km2. The populat ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, in December 1934, he completed his secondary schooling at the Işıklar Military High School in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

. He graduated from the Army Academy in 1955 as an artillery officer. Upon commissioning, Kıvrıkoğlu underwent his officer's basic training at the Artillery Branch School in 1957. He spent the next eight years in a variety of artillery units as platoon and battery commander positions. Following his staff officer education at the Army War College in 1965–1967, Kıvrıkoğlu was posted to the 9th Infantry Division in

Sarıkamış Sarıkamış or Sarikamish ( ku, Zerqamîş, ) is a town and district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Its population was 17,860 in 2010. The town sits in a valley and is surrounded by mountains, many of which are covered ...

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

, as a staff officer, where he served until 1970. After graduating from the Armed Forces College in 1970, he served as planning officer at Operations Division of the

Allied Forces Southern Europe Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Sou ...

(AFSOUTH) at

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Between 1972 and 1973, he served as instructor at the Army War College and as section chief at the Turkish General Staff and branch chief at the Turkish Land Forces Command. Kıvrıkoğlu commanded the

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

Regiment of the Army Academy in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

from 1978 to 1980. After graduating from the

NATO Defence College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, he was promoted to

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 ...

in 1980 and assigned to

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander ...

(SHAPE) in

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where he served as the chief of operations center from 1980 to 1983. Upon returning to Turkey, he assumed the Command of the 3rd Training Infantry and 11th Infantry Brigades between 1983 and 1984 respectively. In 1984, Kıvrıkoğlu was promoted to

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 a ...

and assigned to NATO

Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) formerly Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) is the standing headquarters for NATO land forces which may be assigned as necessary. The Commander LANDCOM is the primary land warfare advisor to Sup ...

(LANDSOUTHEAST) in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

, where he served as chief of staff. Later, he commanded the 9th Infantry Division in Sarıkamış from 1986 to 1988. In 1988, he was promoted to

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 became assistant chief of staff, personnel, at the

Turkish General Staff , image = , image_size = 160px , caption = Emblem of the General Staff , dates = 3 May 1920 – present , country = , allegiance ...

. From 1990 to 1993, he commanded the 5th Corps and then served as undersecretary of

Ministry of National Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. In 1993, Kıvrıkoğlu was promoted to

full 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 On ...

. He then assumed the Command of NATO LANDSOUTHEAST, where he served until 1996, and later he commanded the

Turkish First Army The First Army of the Republic of Turkey () is one of the four field armies of the Turkish Army. Its headquarters is located at Selimiye Barracks in Istanbul. It guards the sensitive borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria, including the st ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

until 1997. Prior to becoming commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, he served as commander of the Land Forces in 1997–1998. There are rumours that Kıvrıkoğlu survived an assassination attempt in 1997's "Toros-2/97" exercise in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

. The bullet intended for him killed Colonel (Albay) Vural Berkay instead. Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu served between August 30, 1998, and August 28, 2002, as the 23rd

Awards

Decorations

*(Turkish) State Medal of Honor *

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 ...

* Order of Distinction Medal (Hilal-i-Jur'at, Pakistan) *

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

– The Rank of Grand Cross *Class One Commander's Cross of

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

Order of National Security Merit The Order of National Security Merit (Hangul: 보국훈장) is one of South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land b ...

, Tongil Medal of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

*Friendship Medal of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Republic *

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

's Flag Medal * Azerbaijan's

Shohrat Order Shohrat Order ( az, Şöhrət ordeni), translated as ''Order of Glory'', is an award presented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History and status The order was created by the Decree No. 757 of the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar ...

Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Şeref Madalyası) is the highest medal that can be bestowed upon an individual by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and was first created on July 27, 1967. Technical specificati ...

Badges

*Army Academy Graduation Badge *Post Graduate Badge *Training and Educational Success Badge *Operational Success Badge *Administration and Logistics Service Badge *NATO Service Badge *Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces Identification Badge.

References

Kivrikoglu, Gen. Huseyin
''

International Who's Who ''The International Who's Who'' is a Who's Who series of reference books of notable people worldwide that has been published annually since 1935. History The first edition was published in 1935 by Europa Publications. The eighth edition (1943-44 ...

''. accessed September 4, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kivrikoglu, Huseyin 1934 births Living people People from Bozüyük Turkish Military Academy alumni Army War College (Turkey) alumni Turkish Army generals Commanders of the Turkish Land Forces Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Order of National Security Merit members Recipients of the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service Commanders with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Shohrat Order Recipients of the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor