Hilmi Özkök
| Hilmi Özkök | |
|---|---|
| Chief of the General Staff of Turkey | |
|
In office 28 August 2002 – 30 August 2006 |
|
| President | Ahmet Necdet Sezer |
| Preceded by | Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu |
| Succeeded by | Yaşar Büyükanıt |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 4, 1940 Turgutlu, Turkey |
| Spouse(s) | Özenç Özkök |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Turkish Army |
| Years of service | 1959–2006 |
| Rank | General |
General Hilmi Özkök (born 1940 in Turgutlu, Manisa Province) was the 24th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He took up that post on August 28, 2002 and served until August 30, 2006 when he retired and was succeeded by General Yaşar Büyükanıt.
Özkök has expressed support for Turkey's alignment with the European Union, sought a reduced role for the National Security Council, and opposed his peers' plans to stage a coup.
Hilmi Özkök was born in Turgutlu, Manisa Province and has been a career soldier. He was educated at the Isiklar (Işıklar) Military High School in Bursa and went from there in 1957 to complete a two-year course at the Turkish Military Academy. Özkök left there as a second lieutenant in the Artillery. He has commanded an Artillery Gun Line, Forward Observation team, Fire Direction Center, SATA Battery, Battalion and Brigade. He has mostly worked with M114 155 mm howitzers and M198 howitzers. He has commanded a Brigade which included a MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missile battalion. He studied at the Army War College and the NATO Defence College in the 1970s.
He is married to Özenç Özkök and has two children.
In his retirement he is pursuing photography and poetry.
After graduating from the Army War College in 1972, Özkök moved into military staff, initially with the Special Weapons Branch of the Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), and then at SHAPE. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1984 and worked as Chief of Planning and Operations for the General Staff (TGS). From 1986-1988 he commanded the 70th Infantry Brigade and on his promotion to Major General in 1988 he commanded the 28th Infantry Division. He returned to the TGS in 1990 and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1992 when he was sent to Brussels to head the Turkish NATO Military Delegation for three years.
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