Lieutenant-General Zekai Aksakallı (born 25 December 1961) is a Turkish
Special Forces Command commander. He graduated from the
Turkish Military Academy
The Turkish Military Academy () or as it is known historically and popularly Harbiye is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defense University (Turkey), National Defence University. It is located in the cent ...
. He was commander of the Turkish forces inside Syria in 2016 following the coup d'état attempt.
Biography
Born in
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
, Zekai Aksakallı is the father of two children. At the age of 17 he attended Erzurum High School and he represented Turkey in the high school
cross-country championship organized in Austria for a number of years and became 27th among 397 athletes. Gen. Aksakallı has been serving as commander of the
Special Forces Command since 2013. Aksakallı played a major role with his
staff sergeant
Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services.
History of title
In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...
Sgt. Maj. Ömer Halisdemir
Ömer Halisdemir was a Turkish non-commissioned officer, who was killed on duty in the night of failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, immediately after he shot dead pro-coup general Semih Terzi and prevented the capture of the headquarters of ...
in the prevention of the
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...
. As a result of his success, he was promoted to
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
at the
YAŞ meeting on 28 July 2016. The General Staff Special Forces Commander, Major General Zekai Aksakallı, who reacted against the coup attempt of
Fetullahçı Terrorist Organization (FETO) by saying "Terrorists will not be successful", caught attention in Turkish public opinion. He was commander of the Turkish forces inside Syria in 2016 following the coup d'état attempt.
Zekai Aksakallı speaks English. He is an active officer of Turkish Armed Forces since 1984.
Ranks
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aksakalli, Zekai
Living people
Turkish Army generals
People involved in the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
1961 births
People from Erzurum