Yaşar Büyükanıt

Yaşar Büyükanıt
25th Chief of the General Staff of Turkey
In office 28 August 2006 – 28 August 2008
President	Ahmet Necdet Sezer Abdullah Gül
Preceded by	Hilmi Özkök
Succeeded by	İlker Başbuğ
Personal details
Born	1 September 1940 Istanbul, Turkey
Spouse(s)	Filiz Büyükanıt
Military service
Service/branch	Turkish Army
Years of service	1961–2008
Rank	General

General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt^§ (born 1 September 1940) was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008.

Biography

General Yaşar Büyükanıt was born in Istanbul, Turkey on 1 September 1940. He joined the Erzincan Military High School in 1959.^[1] He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy in 1961 as an infantry officer. After graduating from the Infantry School in 1963, he served in different units of the Turkish Army as a Platoon and Commando Company Commander until 1970.^[2]

Following his graduation from the Army Staff College in 1972, he served as the Chief of Operations at the 6th Infantry Division, as an instructor at the Army Staff College, as the Chief of the Intelligence Division Basic Intelligence Branch Forces and Systems Section at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium, as the Section and then Branch Chief of the General-Admiral Branch at the Turkish General Staff (TGS) Headquarters, as the Commander of Kuleli Military High School and of the Presidential Guard Regiment.^[2]

After graduating from the NATO Defence College, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1988. He served as the 2nd Armored Brigade Commander and then as the Chief of Intelligence Department at AFSOUTH Headquarters in Naples, Italy.^[2]

Having been promoted to rank of Major General in 1992, General Büyükanıt served as the Secretary General of the Turkish General Staff and then as the Superintendent of the Turkish Army Academy. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1996 and served as the 7th Army Corps Commander until 1998, after which he became the Chief of Operations of the TGS.^[2]

In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of General and served as the Deputy Chief of TGS until 2003. He later served as the Commander of the First Army. General Büyükanıt was appointed as the Commander of the Turkish Army in 2004. He assumed the Command of the Turkish Armed Forces on 28 August 2006.^[2]

General Yaşar Büyükanıt is married to Filiz Büyükanıt, with whom he has a daughter, Bengü.^[3][4]

Political controversies

General Yaşar Büyükanıt is considered tough on terrorism and a staunch defender of secularism. In his speech at the commencement of the academic year at the Turkish Military Academy on 2 October 2006, which was interpreted as a "harsh salvo" in Turkish media,^[5][6] Büyükanıt expressed support for secular values and outlined a hard stance against the PKK. Büyükanıt also asserted that certain EU and NATO-allied countries have intentionally allowed terrorist organizations acting against Turkey, to base and run operations in their own territories, inconsistent with Turkey’s relations and alliance with those countries.^[7]

The Turkish military published a statement on 27 April 2007, two days before the second Republic Protest, as the 2007 presidential election was ongoing. This statement, later called the "E-memorandum", warned against Islamic fundamentalism, which was alleged to pose a threat to the secular Republican nature of the Turkish state. Büyükanıt, then Chief of General Staff, said that it was him who wrote this statement but he denied that it was a memorandum.^[8]

Later, Büyükanıt held a 2.5 hours long secretive meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 5 May 2007 at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul.^[9]

Decorations

• Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor
• Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Courage and Self-Sacrifice
• Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service
• United States Armed Forces Legion of Merit
• Italian Armed Forces Medal of Merit
• Pakistani Medal of Nishan-e-Imtiaz^[2]

References

1. Uğur, Fatih (11 August 2008). "Gelişi kadar gidişi de gürültülü oldu". Aksiyon (in Turkish) (Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş.) 714. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
2. Biography at the Wayback Machine (archived December 17, 2007), Official Web site of the Turkish General Staff.
3. "O artık hür general". Radikal (in Turkish). 28 August 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008. Orgeneral Büyükanıt, tören sonrası düzenlenen resepsiyonda kızı Bengü, damadı Ercan ve torunları Anıl Sarp ve Bengisu Caymaz... |section= ignored (help)
4. Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, NATO Biographies
5. Oğuz, Serhat (3 October 2006). "Büyükanıt da 'irtica tehdidi var' dedi". Milliyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 11 August 2008. (cover page)
6. "Paşa kızdı". Akşam (in Turkish). 3 October 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
7. Aytalar, Ardıç (3 October 2006). "İrtica tehdidi var önlem alın". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 11 August 2008.
8. "Former military chief on the defensive over e-memo criticism". Today's Zaman. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
9. http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=6462627&tarih=2007-05-05