Sebahattin Işık Koşaner (born 5 December 1945) is a Turkish former army general who served as the 27th

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

from 2010 to 2011.

Biography

Koşaner was born in İzmir, Turkey, in 1945. He graduated from the

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy () or as it is known historically and popularly Harbiye is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defense University (Turkey), National Defence University. It is located in the cent ...

in 1965 and the Infantry School in 1966. Until 1976 he served in several contingents of the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

as a

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

and

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

commander, as an instructor at the Mountain Commando School & Training Center Command in

Eğirdir Eğirdir is a town in Isparta Province in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Eğirdir District.

, and as a platoon commander within the Turkish Commando Brigade during

Operation Atilla The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-spons ...

in 1974 . He was later appointed as the commander of the Special Operations Forces at the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. Koşaner graduated from the Turkish Army Staff College in 1978 and served as a command officer at the Special Warfare Department Command of the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in Ankara. After graduating from the

NATO Defence College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, t ...

, he served as a command officer at

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 ...

's Headquarters

Allied Forces Southern Europe The Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southe ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Koşaner later served at the Planning and Coordination Department of the Logistics Command within the Turkish 3rd Army. After graduating from the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

(RCDS) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Koşaner was appointed as the head of the Strategy Division within the Strategy and Forces Planning Department of the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in

. As a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

he commanded the 131st Infantry Regiment at the 8th Infantry Division of the Turkish Army before being appointed as the commander of the Special Operations Command at the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in Ankara. In 1992 Koşaner was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was appointed with the command of the Logistic Planning Department and later the 1st Commando Brigade of the Turkish Army. Koşaner was promoted to the rank of major general in 1996 and was appointed with the command of the Turkish Army Academy. In 2000 Koşaner was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and served as the undersecretary of the Turkish Ministry of Defense and later as the commander of the Cyprus Turkish Peace Force in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

. Koşaner was promoted to the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 2004 and served as the commander of the Turkish Aegean Army and later as the deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff.

High command

On 4 August 2006, General Koşaner was appointed as the commander of the

Turkish Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie General Command () is the national gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in areas that fall outside the jurisdi ...

. He was followed by General Avni Atila Işık as the Gendarmerie commander, when he took over the command of Turkish Army on 30 August 2008. On 8 August 2010, General Koşaner was appointed as the

chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

and took up the position on 30 August 2010. Koşaner, along with the leaders of army, navy and air force simultaneously requested to relinquish their duties and asked for their "retirement" on 29 July 2011, just few days before the important meeting scheduled for 1 August 2011 to discuss appointments of senior military officers. Retirement and Resignation are different terms in Turkish Civil Administrative System. The New York Times stated that their action was to protest the "sweeping arrests of dozens of generals" as a part of a conspiracy investigation. During the investigation that lasted more than a year, more than 40 generals (one tenth of top military commanders) were taken into custody. There were some disagreements between the military and the government as the military wanted to promote some officers but could not since they were suspects of the conspiracy investigation. General Işık Koşaner is married to Nurdan Koşaner and has two children.

References

External links

Turkish Gendarmerie Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosaner, Isik 1945 births Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Military personnel from İzmir Turkish Military Academy alumni Army War College (Turkey) alumni Commanders of the Aegean Army Turkish military personnel of the Cyprus conflicts Deputy chiefs of the Turkish General Staff General Commanders of the Gendarmerie of Turkey Commanders of the Turkish Land Forces Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Living people

Biography

High command

See also

References

External links