Hulusi Akar

Last updated

Hulusi Akar
Hulusi Akar (cropped, 2019).jpg
Akar in 2019
Minister of National Defense
In office
10 July 2018 3 June 2023

On 9 July 2018, Akar was appointed by Turkey's president Erdogan as the Minister for National Defense. This was the first time in Turkey's history that a civilian government appointed an active duty military officer to this position. [19]

In July 2020, reacting to the 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Akar said: "We will continue to stand with the Azerbaijani armed forces and provide support to our Azerbaijani brothers against Armenia, which continues its aggressive approach." [20] During the Turkish invasion in Northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, he visited a Turkish military base in Iraq. [21] He supports the installation of the Russian S-400 missile system despite the opposition of Turkeys NATO allies. [22] In November 2021, he has denied an existence of Kurdistan, be it in Turkey or Iraq in a trilateral discussion with Tulay Hatimogullari Oruç and Garo Paylan in the Turkish Parliament over the use of chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan. [23]

On 17 April 2022, Turkey launched Operation Claw-Lock against militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). [24] [25] On 17 June 2022, Akar announced that he fully supported the enlargement of NATO and was against the membership of Finland and Sweden due to their support for terrorism. [26]

Awards and decorations

Akar has been awarded the:

Personal life

Akar is married to Şule, with whom he has two children. In addition to Turkish, he is also fluent in English and Italian. [32]

See also

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References

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  7. Akar, Hulusi (2019). Harbord military mission report : studies an American fact finding mission conducted and their impacts on Turkish-American relations. Türk Tarih Kurumu. Ankara. ISBN   978-975-17-4233-9. OCLC   1126570070.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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  19. Bekdil, Burak Ege (9 July 2018). "Erdogan appoints active duty military commander as Turkey's defense minister". defensenews.com. Defense News. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  20. "Armenian armed aggression against Azerbaijan, Turkey stands with Azerbaijan". The Eastern Herald. 16 July 2020.
  21. Zaman, Amberin (4 May 2021). "Iraq scolds Turkey over latest anti-PKK offensive in Iraqi Kurdistan - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East". Al Monitor . Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  22. "Turkey's defense minister Hulusi Akar reaffirms Russian S-400 plans". The Economic Times . 12 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  23. "Turkish Defense Minister denies existence of Iraqi Kurdistan". Gazete Duvar . 17 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  24. Askew, Joshua (18 April 2022). "Turkey launches new military offensive in northern Iraq". euronews. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  25. "Turkey launches cross-border attack on Kurdish militants". South Wales Guardian. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  26. "Bakan Akar'dan net İsveç ve Finlandiya mesajı: Teröre destek verip müttefik olmak istiyorlar". Milliyet (in Turkish). 17 June 2022.
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  29. "Genelkurmay Başkanı Orgeneral Akar Azerbaycan'da". Memleket. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
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  31. 1 2 "Türk Kuvvet Komutanları biyografileri" (PDF). CİCA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  32. "T.C.CUMHURBAŞKANLIĞI : Hulusi AKAR". www.tccb.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 13 November 2020.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander of the Turkish Army
23 August 2013 – 18 August 2015
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff of Turkey
18 August 2015 – 10 July 2018
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of National Defence
10 July 2018–3 June 2023
Succeeded by