Hulusi Akar (born 12 March^{[citation needed]} 1952) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a brigade commander in various NATO engagements including the International Security Assistance Force against the Taliban insurgency, Operation Deliberate Force during the Bosnian War, the Kosovo Force during the Kosovo War, as well as overseeing much of the Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.

In the 2023 Turkish parliamentary election he was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey from Kayseri representing the Justice and Development Party.

Akar was born in 1952 in Kayseri, Turkey. He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy in 1972 and the Turkish Infantry School in 1973. In 1975 he attended Queen's University Belfast for postgraduate studies in International Diplomacy.

He attended academic programs in Computer Programming at Middle East Technical University and International Relations at Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, and completed his doctorate at Boğaziçi University. His doctoral thesis, which included the political and military developments in 1919 on the Turkish-American relations to the fore through American archive documents, was published as a book by the Turkish Historical Society under the title of "Harbord Military Mission Report: Studies an American Fact-Finding Mission Conducted and Their Impacts on Turkish-American Relations".

Akar served as a company commander, section chief and branch chief at various units and headquarters including the Turkish General Staff. He also served as an instructor at the Army Command and Staff College and was posted abroad as a staff officer in the intelligence division at Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) from 1990–1993. From 1993 until 1994, he was the Military Assistant to the Land Forces Commander, and also served as the Chief Public Information Officer. Later on, he continued this assignment for the Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces from 1994–1997. He was subsequently posted as the Commander of the Turkish Brigade - Zenica/Bosnia from 1997 until 1998.

Upon his promotion to brigadier general in 1998, he commanded the Internal Security Brigade for two years, and then served as the Chief of Plans and Policy in AFSOUTH from 2000–2002. Following his promotion to major general in 2002, he assumed the command of the Military Academy for three years and was subsequently the Commander of the Army Command and Staff College for two years until 2007.

After his promotion to lieutenant general, he was the commander of Land Forces Logistics and then the Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps-Turkey and the 3rd Corps from 2009–2011. Subsequent to his promotion to the rank of general in 2011, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff from 2011 until 2013, and the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces from 2013 until 2015.

On 2 August 2015, General Akar was appointed as the 29th chief of the General Staff and took up the position on 18 August 2015.