Yaşar Güler (born 18 September 1954) is a retired Turkish general currently serving as the Minister of National Defense. He previously served as the 30th Chief of the General 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 ...

from 2018 to 2023.

Career

He enlisted in the army in 1974, which was effectively the start of his military career. He spent two years prior to his enlistment studying at 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 the 10 years since joining the land forces, he served in various infantry and signals companies, acting as the commander of one of them. In 1986 he graduated from the Army War College with honors and graduated with the rank of a staff officer. He was promoted to brigadier general in 2001 and assumed responsibility for the 10th Infantry Brigade Command and the Planning and Coordination Department of the General Staff. 4 years later, he was promoted to major general and took over duties of the General Staff and at the School of Communications and Electronic Information Systems of the TAF 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 ( ...

. In 2009, he was appointed to a position in the General Command of the 4th Army Corps, serving for over 2 years, this time as

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 ...

. From 2011 – 2013, he was the chief of intelligence for the armed forces, a position where he performed his duties before becoming the Deputy Chief of Staff in 2013, where he was also promoted to

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 ...

and became the commander of the Gendarmerie General Command in 2016–2017, and became the Commander of Land Forces in 2017–2018, serving in those positions for a combined 5 years. On July 10, 2018, he was appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the 30th General Staff of the Republic of Turkey of the Armed Forces, succeeding Hulusi Akar, who was promoted to the post of Minister of National Defence that same day. He is currently married to Demet Güler, with whom he has a child. He has two grandchildren.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guler, Yasar 1954 births Living people People from Ardahan Ministers of national defence of Turkey Members of the 67th government of Turkey Turkish Army generals Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Turkish Military Academy alumni Burials at Ayazağa Cemetery