Gökçen Fırat (born 22 June 1977) is a Turkish military officer. She is the first female

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in the history of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and the first female ship commander in the country.

Early life and military career

Gökçen Fırat was born on 22 June 1977 in Istanbul. She graduated from the

Turkish Naval Academy The Turkish Naval Academy () is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the district of Tuzla in Istanbul. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and physically for service as c ...

in 1998 and served on the frigate TCG Yavuz. Later, she became Turkey's first female ship commander by leading the training ship TCG Training Boat-2. Fırat worked in various staff positions in the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, and

Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...

. After completing staff officer training, she served in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

missions in Norway and the United Kingdom. In 2023, she was promoted to rear

and appointed Head of Defense Planning and Project Management.

References

Living people 1977 births Naval Academy (Turkey) alumni {{Improve categories, date=April 2025