General Hulusi Akar

General Hulusi Akar, the 29th Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, was commissioned as an infantry officer after graduating from the Military Academy  in 1972.

Upon completing the Infantry Officer Basic Course in 1973, General Akar served at different levels between 1973 and 1980. He graduated from the Army Command and Staff College in 1982, the Armed Forces College in 1985 and the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College in 1987.

General Akar’s staff assignments include duties as section and branch chief at various units and headquarters along with Turkish General Staff and NATO. Before being promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1998, he was the Commander of the Turkish Brigade in Zenica / Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997-1998.

As a Brigadier General, General Akar first commanded the Internal Security Brigade for two years and then served as the ACOS Plans and Policy in HQ AFSOUTH / Naples / Italy  from 2000 to 2002.

Following his promotion to Major General in 2002, he assumed the command of the Military Academy for three years and was subsequently the Commander of the Army Command and Staff College until 2007.

After his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General in 2007, he was appointed as the Commander of the Land Forces Logistics Command for  two years and then commanded the 3rd Turkish Corps (NRDC-T) between 2009 and 2011.

He was promoted to the rank of General in 2011. Prior to assuming his current post as the Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces on 18 August 2015, he served as the Deputy Chief of Turkish General Staff from 2011 to 2013 and commanded the Turkish Land Forces from 2013 to 2015.

He was awarded Courage and Self-Sacrifice Medal by the Turkish General Staff due to his outstanding achievements in Internal Security Operations and Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Service and Medal of Honor for his exceptional service. Furthermore, he  received NATO Medal and Legion of Merit in Bosnia-Herzegovina during SFOR Operation, NATO Medal during KFOR operation, Korean National Security Legion of Merit, United States Legion of Merit, Kyrgyzstan Armed Forces General Staff Distinguished Service Medal, Kazakhstan Armed Forces’ 20th Anniversary Medal, Republic of Azerbaijan Distinguished Service in Military Cooperation Medal and Azerbaijan Border Security 95th Anniversary Medal, Pakistan Nishan-e Imtiyaz Medal, Italian Defence General Staff Medal of Honor.

A graduate of Turkish Armed Forces College and the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College, General Akar attended a number of academic programs at Middle East Technical University, Political Sciences Faculty of Ankara University and earned his PhD from Boğaziçi University.

General Hulusi Akar is married to Şule Akar with two children. He speaks English.