Metin Gürak appointed as new chief of General Staff

ANKARA

The Supreme Military Council presided over by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced the appointment of Gen. Metin Gürak as the new chief of General Staff.

The position became vacant after Yaşar Güler was appointed as the defense minister. Previously serving as 2nd Army Commander, Gürak's promotion to the top post was decided during a three-hour meeting at the Presidential Complex on Aug. 3. The council also finalized the new command structure of the Turkish Armed Forces during the meeting.

As part of the reshuffle, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu was appointed as the land forces commander, and Combat Air Force Commander Gen. Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu was appointed as the air forces commander.

The council further discussed promotions and retirement decisions. As of Aug. 30, 2023, 32 generals and admirals will be promoted to the next rank and 63 colonels will be promoted to general and admiral status. This will increase the number of generals and admirals in the Turkish army from 266 to 286.

Additionally, the terms of office for 24 generals and admirals have been extended for one year, and 365 colonels will see their terms extended for two years.

However, retirement age and lack of personnel led to the retirement of two generals on Sept. 1 and 41 generals and admirals on Aug. 30. Among them were Land Forces Commander Gen. Musa Avsever and Air Force Commander Gen. Atilla Gülan. Both were retired due to age limitations.

Erdoğan and the council members visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, before the meeting.

"Dear Atatürk, we, as the members of the Supreme Military Council, once again remember you and our gallant martyrs with grace,” the president wrote in the special book at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

“We are exerting intensive efforts in order to build the 'Century of Türkiye.' Our biggest source of power and confidence in our efforts is the apple of our nation, the Turkish Armed Forces, with its high sense of duty and outstanding capabilities. We will hopefully further strengthen our army with the decisions we will take during today’s meeting.”

The meeting also holds particular significance as most of the members of the cabinet will be attending the Supreme Military Council for the first time.

Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, Education Minister Yusuf Tekin and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler are among the officials present in the deliberations.