Çevik Bir

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Çevik Bir was a member of the Turkish general staff in the 1990s. He took a major part in several important international missions in the Middle East and North Africa. He was born in Buca, İzmir, in 1939 and is married with one child.

He graduated from the Military Academy as an engineer officer in 1958, from the Army Staff College in 1970 and from the Armed Forces College in 1971. He graduated from NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy in 1972.

From 1973 to 1985, he served at NATO's headquarters in SHAPE, Belgium. He was promoted to Brigadier General and commanded an armed brigade and division in Turkey. From 1987 to 1991, he served as Major General, and then was promoted to Lietenant General.

After the dictator Siad Barre’s ouster, conflicts between the General Farah Aidid's party and other clans in Somalia had led to famine and lawlessness throughout the country. An estimated 300,000 people had died from starvation. A combined military force of United States and United Nations (under the name UNISOM) were deployed to Mogadishu, to monitor the ceasefire and deliver food and supplies to the starving people of Somali. Çevik Bir, who was then a lieutenant-general of Turkey, became the force commander of UNISOM in 1993. Despite the retreat of US and UN forces after several deaths due to local hostilities mainly led by Aidid, the introduction of a powerful military force opened the transportation routes, enabling the provision of supplies and ended the famine quickly.

He became a four-star general and served three zears as Vice-chairman of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), then appointed Commander of the Turkish First Army, located in Istanbul. While he was Vice-chairman of the TAF, he signed the Turkish-Israeli Military Coordination agreement in 1996. He was awarded the award of Ahiremot Kedosim by Israel.

Çevik Bir became the Turkish army's deputy chief of general staff shortly after the Somali operation and played a vital role in establishing a Turkish-Israeli entente against the emerging fundamentalism in the Middle East. For being a staunch defender of secularism in the region, he was awarded the Secularism and Democracy Award of 1997 in Washington, DC.

He has several other distinctions among which are the United Nations medal, the US medal of Merit, the German medal of Honor, the Turkish Armed Forces medal of Distinguished Service and medal of Merit, the United Kingdom Distinguished Achievements medal, the Jordan medal of Istihkak and the French medal of Merit.

Çevik Bir retired from the army in 1999. He is currently a member of an association for the study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) chaired by Professor Bernard Lewis.