Turkey appoints new chief of general staff

The Turkish government has appointed a new chief of general staff following three days of the Supreme Military Council's annual meeting.

Current Land Forces Commander, Gen. Hulusi Akar, was appointed as top commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, replacing his predecessor Gen. Necdet Ozel, who served for four years and is about to retire as of Aug. 14.

The three-days-long Supreme Military Council meeting restructured the country's military brass, with decisions announced by presidential spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, after receiving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approval.

Gen. Akar was born in 1952 in the Kayseri province in central Turkey and graduated from the Military Academy as an Infantry Officer in 1972. He graduated from the Army Command and Staff College in 1982, from the Armed Forces College in 1985 and from the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College in 1987.

Gen. Akar served as a Commander in Bosnia between 1997 and 1998, for which he was awarded the U.S. Order of Merit, before returning to Turkey as Commander of the Internal Security Brigade.

He was bestowed with the Courage and Self-Sacrifice Medals for his outstanding achievements in internal security operations.

Gen. Akar was appointed as Land Forces Commander in 2013.