Hulusi Akar is a former 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 brigade commander in various NATO engagements including the International Security Assistance Force against the Taliban insurgency, Operation Deliberate Force during the Bosnian War, the Kosovo Force during the Kosovo War, as well as overseeing much of the Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.
Akar in 2019
Dunford, Hulusi Akar and Valery Gerasimov are discussing their nations' operations in northern Syria, March 2017
Gerasimov (right), Joseph Dunford (left) and Hulusi Akar (middle) at a meeting to discuss their nations’ operations in northern Syria, 6 March 2017
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 Government of the Grand National Assembly and the Turkish War of Independence. The post has its own rank insignia, which is the OF-9 rank of the Chief of Staff's personal service branch surrounded by laurel wreaths. In practice, the position has always been held by a Turkish Land Forces officer.
Image: Inonu Ismet
Image: Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak
Image: Mehmet Kazim Orbay
Image: Turkse chef Generale staf (Generaal Sunay),, Bestanddeelnr 916 7535 (cropped)