He had collected glasses at a NATO meeting: Major General Göksel Kahya retired at the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ)

12punto.com.tr EXCLUSIVE

A trilateral summit between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland regarding the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland was held in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on March 9, 2023.

While Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar and Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın represented Turkey at the meeting, Major General Göksel Kahya, Head of the Turkish Military Representative (TMR) to NATO, and other NATO officials were also present at the table.

Footage from the meeting that reached the press, showing Major General Göksel Kahya collecting empty glasses from the table, had drawn significant backlash.

RETIRED DUE TO AGE LIMIT

Major General Kahya was retired by the decision of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) today (August 1, 2024). The reason cited for Kahya's retirement was the "age limit". 

WHO IS GÖKSEL KAHYA?

Air Force Major General Göksel Kahya, whose family roots are in Emirdağ, was born in Ankara in 1963. Kahya is married and a father of two.

He completed his primary and secondary education in Heybeliada, Istanbul. After graduating from Kuleli Military High School, he graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1985. After receiving his basic training as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer at the Air Technical Schools Command in 1986, he was assigned to the 4th Main Jet Base Command and completed his master's degree in Operations Research in the USA between 1989 and 1991.

He graduated from the Air War College, which he entered in 1995, in 1997.

Between 1997 and 1999, he served as a military instructor at the Air Force Academy.

He served at the SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium between 1999 and 2003. In 2003, he was appointed to the NATO Planning and Operations Directorate of the General Staff. He completed his duty as the Strategic Planning Branch Manager at the SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium, to which he was appointed in 2006, in 2008, and was then assigned to the 2nd Air Force Command in Diyarbakır.

Major General Kahya was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General by the Supreme Military Council decisions in August 2010 and was appointed as the Head of Systems Management at the Air Logistics Command.

In 2019, he was appointed to the staff of the newly established General Directorate of Management Services at the Ministry of National Defense.

With an appointment made in 2022, Air Force Major General Göksel Kahya, who was serving at the Ministry of National Defense, was appointed as the Head of the Turkish Military Representative to NATO.