Meet Lieutenant General Ferenc Kajári, the first Hungarian KFOR commander

From IFOR partner to NATO Ally: witnessing Hungary’s milestones

“From an early age, I had the idea that I would serve my country,” says Lt Gen Kajári, who decided that he wanted to follow the military career path at the age of 12. “I wanted to have a job that would challenge me and bring me something new every day, and the military seemed like the best choice. When I look back at my career, I made the right decision – all posts that I have been assigned to have proved to be extremely rewarding and stimulating.”

Following his Military College graduation in 1988 and several postings in various Hungarian Defence Forces infantry brigades in Hungary, Lt Gen Kajári (at that point Captain Kajári) joined the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Alliance's first major crisis response operation, in 1996. NATO deployed IFOR under a mandate by the UN Security Council after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in December 1995, which ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia at the end of the Cold War.

“This was the very first deployment of Hungary as a NATO partner under the Partnership for Peace framework,” he explains. “I was assigned to the engineer contingent that provided mobility in the area, both for the troops and for the local population, by building bridges and reconstructing roads. The deployment was a steep learning curve for all of us. We had to learn how to integrate into NATO’s activities, work in the operational area and coordinate with the NATO-led IFOR headquarters, all in an operation that had started just a year earlier. Back then, I was a young captain and IFOR was a valuable experience – after years of exercising, I could do what I had trained for.”

Lt Gen Kajári (third from the left) during his IFOR deployment to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996.

Participation in IFOR and the follow-on Stabilisation Force (SFOR) mission helped Hungary build closer ties with NATO as the country was on its path towards NATO membership in 1999. For Lt Gen Kajári, it marked the beginning of his involvement with the Alliance – but it was not his only engagement with NATO. As a member of Hungary’s working group on NATO accession, he witnessed first-hand the country’s progress on the military and civil reforms needed in order to become a NATO Ally. In 1998, he was nominated as a Partnership for Peace (PfP) officer at Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of NATO’s strategic commands at the time, where he continued to work on improving his country’s integration into the Alliance’s structures and exercises.

“When Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and I watched the Hungarian flag being raised at NATO Headquarters, it was an extraordinary feeling,” he says. ”Joining PfP five years before gave us a distant vision of becoming a member of the Alliance; the ceremony was a testimony to the progress that Hungary and other nations had achieved to be able to join the Alliance.”

Lt Gen Kajári (right) receiving the Certificate of Service at the end of his ACLANT assignment, 2001.

Looking back at KFOR: Working with 28 countries for peace and stability

In October 2021, Lt Gen Kajári was appointed as the commander of the KFOR mission in Kosovo, which aims to ensure a safe and secure environment for all people living in Kosovo, according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999, and contributes to consolidate peace and stability. For a year, he led the mission’s more than 3,700 troops. He was also responsible for KFOR’s operational activities and dialogue among different stakeholders. As he says, one of the first things he learned was to understand that a commander is responsible for everything he has done and has failed to do.

“Being a commander is a multifaceted task,” he explains. “On the outside, it all seems to be about military and operational management, but it includes numerous protocol activities with local and regional representatives and the international community. To give you an idea, during my 360 days of deployment, I attended 354 meetings, delegation visits and ceremonial greetings,” he laughs.

While at KFOR, Lt Gen Kajári re-established one of the projects that he is particularly proud of: the publication of the KFOR magazine ‘4You’ in Braille alphabet once a year for visually impaired youth. This otherwise monthly magazine provides entertaining and informative content to young people in Kosovo and is distributed in local schools.

“We cooperated on this project with the Paralympic Committee of Kosovo. Together, we were able to share NATO and KFOR’s activities among a wider population and support children, youth and their families.”

Lt Gen Kajári (second from left) with Admiral Stuart Munsch (third from left), commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, during his KFOR deployment, from 15 October 2021 to 10 October 2022.

As the first Hungarian officer to command KFOR, Lt Gen Kajári was eager to demonstrate the maturity of the Hungarian Defence Forces and their ability to take on similar leadership roles. However, he also had a personal goal: to avoid any injury among troops in his area of responsibility.

“I am happy to say that during the year of my deployment, there were no injuries or similar incidents,” he shares. “Even in heated situations, we were able to diffuse any tensions through negotiations and demonstration of our capabilities.”

The meaning of NATO: Strength, capability and opportunity

Commanding KFOR has been one of Lt Gen Kajári’s greatest professional highlights.

“The experience of being the commander of an operation led by the most powerful military alliance in the world is difficult to describe,” he says. “KFOR demonstrates what NATO is about: 28 Allies and partners with different backgrounds, cultures and national heritages joining together to achieve a common goal and provide safety and security.”

When asked what NATO means to him, Lt Gen Kajári uses three words: strength, capability and opportunity.

“By strength, I mean the power of the member states that form the biggest military defence organisation in the world,” he explains. “By capability, I understand it as an ability to defend the Allied territory and also strengthen stability outside of its borders. And by opportunity, I think of a two-fold possibility to improve, learn and be more effective, both in terms of member countries, but also individuals working for the Alliance. I am proud to be part of such an organisation and honoured to be one of the generals of the Alliance.”

Lt Gen Kajári (centre) with Admiral Rob Bauer (left), Chair of the NATO Military Committee, and General Tod D. Wolters (right), Supreme Allied Commander Europe, during their KFOR visit on 8 December 2021.