Necdet Özel (born 1950) is a Turkish general, who served as the 28th

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

. He also served as the commander of the

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the foun ...

. Özel is only the second in this position not to have

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 ...

experience.

Early life and education

Özel was born in 1950 in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy in 1969 and the Infantry School in 1970. In 1975 he attended the London School of Economics for post graduates studies in International Diplomacy.

Military career

Özel served as a platoon leader and company commander in various units of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) until 1978. Following his graduation from Army War College in 1980 as a staff officer, he respectively served as operations plan officer at Turkish Peace Forces HQ in Cyprus, branch chief and then as the secretary general at the General Secretariat of Turkish Land Forces, chief of staff at the Turkish Military Academy, and as the commander of the 17th Infantry Regiment. Having promoted to brigadier general in 1995, he served as the commander of the 172nd Armored Brigade and as the Chief of Internal Security Operations Department, TLFC. After his promotion to major general in 1999, he assumed the command of the 39th Mechanized Infantry Division and of the Army War College.

High command

In 2003, he was promoted to lieutenant general and served as the commander of the 7th Corps and then as the deputy commander of Training and Doctrine Command, TLFC. As a general, he served as the commander of Aegean Army between 2007–2008, as the commander of the 2nd Army between 2008–2010, and as the commander of gendarmerie between 2010–2011. After serving as the commander of TLFC and as the acting commander of the Turkish Armed Forces between 29 July and 4 August 2011, he assumed the command of Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) on 4 August 2011. Between 4 August 2011 and 18 August 2015, he served as the 28th

chief of the Turkish General Staff The Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces () is the chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces (). He is appointed by the President of Turkey, who is the commander-in-chief. The position dates to the period of the ...

, succeeded by

Hulusi Akar Hulusi Akar (born 12 March 1952) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a bri ...

Personal life

Özel is married to Kamuran Özel. They have one child.

References

External links

Necdet Ozel biography
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozel, Necdet Living people 1950 births Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff General Commanders of the Gendarmerie of Turkey Commanders of the Turkish Land Forces Commanders of the Second Army of Turkey