Kemal Yeni

Yeni was born in the village of Evcili in the Toroslar district of Mersin Province, Turkey.^[1][2] He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy in 1985 as an artillery lieutenant. Following graduation, he completed his training at the Artillery and Missile School, subsequently serving in various artillery and air defense units as a platoon and battery commander.^[1]

In 1997, he graduated from the Turkish Army War College as a staff captain, and subsequently started his assignments within the Turkish Land Forces.^[1]

Yeni held command and staff positions throughout his service in the Turkish Armed Forces. Early in his career, he served in international and domestic assignments. He was deployed as part of the Turkish Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under NATO command. From 2000 to 2003, he was stationed at Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) Headquarters in Naples, Italy, where he worked as a planner for Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercises.^[1]

Between 2003 and 2005, Yeni served as the commander of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion. In 2005, he was promoted to the rank of artillery staff colonel. In this capacity, he held various positions, including Planning and Coordination Branch Manager at the Turkish General Staff Military Archives (ATASE) Directorate, chief of staff and deputy commander of the 10th Motorized Infantry Brigade in Tatvan, and National Strategy Branch Manager at the General Staff Strategy Department.^[1]

Yeni was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 2011 and was appointed commander of the 58th Artillery Brigade, a post he held until 2015. Following his promotion to major general in 2015, he was assigned as the Head of the General Staff Logistics Department.^[1]

Between 2016 and 2018, he served in senior operational roles, including as the First Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council from 2016 to 2017, and as Head of Operations at the General Staff from 2017 to 2018.^[1]

In 2018, Yeni was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed commander of the 3rd Corps, serving in that capacity until 2021. He was subsequently appointed commander of the 3rd Corps on 24 August 2021, and later commander of the Aegean Army in August 2022.^[1]

In 2023, he was promoted to the rank of general.^[3] In the same year, he was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff.^[4]