Yaşar Büyükanıt General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt ( born 1 September 1940 ) was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces , from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008 . Biography . General Yaşar Büyükanıt was born in Istanbul , Turkey on 1 September 1940 . He joined the Erzincan Military High School in 1959 . He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy in 1961 as an infantry officer . After graduating from the Infantry School in 1963 , he served in different units of the Turkish Army as a Platoon and Commando Company Commander until 1970 . Following his graduation from the Army Staff College in 1972 , he served as the Chief of Operations at the 6th Infantry Division , as an instructor at the Army Staff College , as the Chief of the Intelligence Division Basic Intelligence Branch Forces and Systems Section at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons , Belgium , as the Section and then Branch Chief of the General - Admiral Branch at the Turkish General Staff ( TGS ) Headquarters , as the Commander of Kuleli Military High School and of the Presidential Guard Regiment . After graduating from the NATO Defence College , he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1988 . He served as the 2nd Armored Brigade Commander and then as the Chief of Intelligence Department at AFSOUTH Headquarters in Naples , Italy . Having been promoted to rank of Major General in 1992 , General Büyükanıt served as the Secretary General of the Turkish General Staff and then as the Superintendent of the Turkish Army Academy . He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1996 and served as the 7th Army Corps Commander until 1998 , after which he became the Chief of Operations of the TGS . In 2000 , he was promoted to the rank of General and served as the Deputy Chief of TGS until 2003 . He later served as the Commander of the First Army . General Büyükanıt was appointed as the Commander of the Turkish Army in 2004 . He assumed the Command of the Turkish Armed Forces on 28 August 2006 . General Yaşar Büyükanıt is married to Filiz Büyükanıt , with whom he has a daughter , Bengü . Political controversies . General Yaşar Büyükanıt is considered tough on terrorism and a staunch defender of secularism . In his speech at the commencement of the academic year at the Turkish Military Academy on 2 October 2006 , which was interpreted as a " harsh salvo " in Turkish media , Büyükanıt expressed support for secular values and outlined a hard stance against the PKK . Büyükanıt also asserted that certain EU and NATO - allied countries have intentionally allowed terrorist organizations acting against Turkey , to base and run operations in their own territories , inconsistent with Turkey ’ s relations and alliance with those countries . The Turkish military published a statement on 27 April 2007 , two days before the second Republic Protest , as the 2007 presidential election was ongoing . This statement , later called the " E - memorandum " , warned against Islamic fundamentalism , which was alleged to pose a threat to the secular Republican nature of the Turkish state . Büyükanıt , then Chief of General Staff , said that it was him who wrote this statement but he denied that it was a memorandum . Later , Büyükanıt held a 2 . 5 hours long secretive meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 5 May 2007 at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul .