Ilhami Erdil (July 16, 1938 – July 5, 2023) was a Turkish admiral who served as the 18th commander of the Turkish Naval Forces from 26 August 1999 to 24 August 2001. He also served as the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

planning officer and Planning Organization Department between 1975 and 1977 and

naval attaché A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

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between 1979 and 1981. Erdil was promoted to the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in 1987,

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 30 August 1992, and a four-star admiral on 30 August 1997 until he retired from the service on 24 August 2001.

Biography

Erdil received his early schooling in

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, () is the second largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Adalar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its populatio ...

. He joined the Naval High School in 1953 and obtained his graduation from the

Turkish Naval Academy The Turkish Naval Academy () is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the district of Tuzla in Istanbul. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and physically for service as c ...

in 1958. He initially served as power station, wound defense, combat, navigation and operations officer at various ships, and enrolled at the Naval War College and the Turkish Armed Forces Academy between 1968 and 1971. His staff assignments includes ''TCG Gemlik II'', ''TCG Istanbul'', and War Fleet Operations, manager. He later went to the US and enrolled in the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

between 1977 and 1978. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he commanded ''Assault Boat Flotilla'' and ''1st Destroyer Flotilla''. Upon his promotion to the rank of rear admiral, he was appointed as the chief of the General Staff Intelligence Department and the Turkish Naval command stationed near the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. He served as mine squadron commander between 1988 and 1990 and the chief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1992. Upon his promotion to the rank of vice admiral he commanded Naval Training Command between 1992 and 1993. He later became chief of staff of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

for the

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from 1995 to 1997.

Controversies

Erdil faced charges in 2004 for his role in corruption and misuse of power. He was later sentenced to 30 months in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erdil, Ilhami 2023 deaths 1938 births Commanders of the Turkish Naval Forces Naval Academy (Turkey) alumni People from Ankara