Kemal Yamak

M. Kemal Yamak (* 1924 in Amasya , Amasya Province ; † July 26, 2009 ) was a Turkish general who, among other things, was Supreme Commander of the Army (Türk Kara Kuvetleri) from 1987 to 1989 .

Life

Yamak entered the military school (Harp Okulu) after attending the cadet institute (Işıklar Askeri Lisesi) of Bursa in 1943 , from which he graduated in 1945 as an ensign (Asteğmen) . Two years later, in 1947 he completed further training at the Army Artillery School (Topçu Sınıf Okulu) and was then a platoon leader and battery chief in various artillery units. In 1958 he completed his training as a staff officer at the Army Academy (Harp Akademisi) and then found numerous jobs as an officer and staff officer in various military units, such as in Afghanistan .

In 1971 Yamak was promoted to Brigadier General (Tuğgeneral) and took over as the successor to Cihat Akyol until his replacement by Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu as head of the special warfare department in the General Staff of Turkey and in 1973 as commander of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Brigade stationed in Keşan . After his promotion to Major General (Tümgeneral) he became in 1975 commander of the 28th Infantry - Division , 1976 Head of the Operations Department in the Army High Command, 1977 Commander of the 3rd Military District, and in 1978 commander of the Territorial Regional Command East.

In 1979 Yamak was promoted to lieutenant general (Korgeneral) and was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in Cyprus KTBK (Kıbrıs Türk Barış Kuvvetleri) . He was then Commanding General of the VII Corps and, since August 22, 1982, as the successor to General Mehmet Buyruk, Chief of Staff of the Army High Command. In this position he was promoted to General (Orgeneral) in 1984 and finally replaced on August 15, 1985 by General Nazif Oka as Chief of Staff.

On August 30, 1985, General Yamak succeeded General İsmail Hakkı Akansel as Commander-in-Chief of the Aegean Army (Ege Ordusu) and held this position until he was replaced by General Muhittin Fisunoğlu on July 24, 1987. Most recently, on July 24, 1987, he became Supreme Commander of the Army (Türk Kara Kuvetleri) and thus successor to General Necip Torumtay , who in turn became Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces . Yamak held the post of commander-in-chief of the Army until he reached the age limit on September 1, 1989 and retired from it. His successor was General Doğan Güreş , the previous commander in chief of the 1st Army .

Immediately after retiring from active military service, Yamak became chief advisor to Prime Minister Turgut Özal . After the election of Özals as president , Yamak became General Secretary of the Presidential Office on November 9, 1989 (Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanlığı genel sekreterleri) and as such successor to Sedat Güneral . He held the post of General Secretary of the Presidential Office until Özal's death on April 17, 1993.

Yamak was married and had three children.

Web links

• List of commanders in chief on the Army homepage
• Entry in Kim Kimdir? (Who is who?)