Salih Omurtak

Salih Omurtak (1889–23 June 1954) was a Turkish general and the fourth Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. In 1930, he oversaw the Zilan massacre of thousands of Kurdish civilians.

Salih Omurtak
1323 (1910)-P. 1[1]
Born1889
Thessaloniki, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Died1954 (aged 64–65)
Ankara, Turkey
Buried
Ankara Hava Şehitliği
Transferred to State Cemetery
Allegiance
Years of service
  • Ottoman: 20 September 1907–1920
  • Turkey: 1 January 1920 – 6 July 1950
RankGeneral
Commands held61st Division, Staff of Chief of the Third Army, 8th Corps, 9th Corps, 3rd Corps, Member of the Supreme Military Council, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, First Army, Chief of the General Staff, Member of the Supreme Military Council
Battles/wars

Biography
Salih Omurtak on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable (1943)

He was born 1889 in Thessaloniki, in the Salonica Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (present-day Greece). He graduated from the Military College in 1907 with the rank of a lieutenant. After finishing the Staff College in 1910, he became a staff officer and served at several headquarters in the Ottoman Army.

Deployed to Ankara on 22 January 1920, he joined the Turkish revolutionaries and commanded various troops during and after the Turkish War of Independence. He was promoted to the rank of the Mirliva in 1926, and in 1930, he became a Ferik. From 1940 on, Omurtak held the commander-in-chief post of the First Army in the rank of the Orgeneral (four-star general).

He was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces on 1 August 1946 following the resignation of Kazım Orbay, and served at this position until 8 June 1949. His following duty was the membership in the Military High Advisory Board, which he held until his retirement on 6 July 1950.

Salih Omurtak died on 23 June 1954 in Ankara. His body was moved later to a permanent burial place in the Turkish State Cemetery.

See also

References
  1. T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 231. (in Turkish)

Salih OMURTAK in the official website of the Turkish General Staff (in Turkish)

Military offices
Preceded by
Cemil Cahit Toydemir		 Commander of the First Army
17 Jun 1946 – 29 July 1946		 Succeeded by
Nuri Yamut
Preceded by
Kazım Orbay		 Chief of the General Staff of Turkey
1 August 1946 – 8 June 1949		 Succeeded by
Nafiz Gürman
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