Zeki Kuneralp
| Zeki Kuneralp | |
|---|---|
| Turkish Ambassador to Bern | |
|
In office 1960–1964 |
|
| Turkish Ambassador to London | |
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In office 1964–1966 |
|
|
In office 1969–1972 |
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| Turkish Ambassador to Madrid | |
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In office 1972–1979 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | October 5th 1914 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Died | 1998 (aged 83–84) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Spouse(s) | Necla Ozdilci |
| Children | Two sons: Sinan and Selim |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Zeki Kuneralp (5 October 1914– 26 July 1998) was a Turkish diplomat, who was brought up in exile in Switzerland after the murder of his father, Ali Kemal Bey, during the Turkish War of Independence. After his education he returned to Turkey and, with the express approval of President İsmet İnönü, entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At first taking up diplomatic posts throughout Europe, Kuneralp was later appointed Turkish Ambassador to Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Spain, as well as twice serving as Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry. He survived an assassination attempt which claimed the lives of his wife and her brother in Madrid in 1978. He retired, in part due to ill-health, in 1979, renouncing the world and current affairs, and turning his attention instead to writing and publishing. His autobiography was translated into English in 1992, while others of his books are considered important sources of twentieth century Turkish history. He died in Istanbul in 1998.
Born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire in October 1914, Kuneralp was the second son of Ali Kemal Bey, a journalist, writer, and politician, by his second wife, Sabiha Hanim. Ali Kemal was a political opponent of the nationalists at the time that Britain occupied Istanbul, during the Turkish War of Independence. He was detained when the revolutionaries won in 1922 and taken to Ankara to an Independence Tribunal, but the ferry (or train) he was put on stopped at Izmit and there he was murdered by young Turkish soldiers. After the kidnap and murder of his father his mother took the family into exile in Switzerland. There he received his education, and a Law doctorate from the University of Bern in 1938.
When permission for him to enter the Turkish Foreign Ministry was granted personally by President İsmet İnönü in 1942, Kuneralp began his career there, going on to become one of the most brilliant diplomats of his generation. Early in his career, he was posted to Bucharest, Prague, Paris, and Turkey's NATO Delegation. A strong believer in Turkish-Greek friendship, Kuneralp worked hard but unsuccessfully to repair the damage done to Turkish-Greek relations by the rift over Cyprus between 1954 and 1964.
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