Zeki Kuneralp

Zeki Kuneralp was born on October 5, 1914, in Istanbul, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. He was the second son of Ali Kemal, a journalist, writer, and politician, and his second wife, Sabiha Hanım. During the Turkish War of Independence, his father was a political opponent of the nationalists and was detained by revolutionary authorities in Ankara in 1922. Before his execution, Ali Kemal was transported from Istanbul and was murdered near Izmit by young Turkish soldiers. Following this event, Kuneralp's family went into exile in Switzerland.

In 1924, the Republic of Turkey adopted the Surname Law, and he acquired the surname Kuneralp. He received his education in Switzerland, earning a doctorate in law from the University of Bern in 1938. While at university, he was affiliated with the "Zähringia Bernensis" fraternity.

In 1942, President İsmet İnönü personally approved Kuneralp’s entry into the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, marking the beginning of his diplomatic career. He initially held diplomatic positions across various European countries, including Bucharest, Prague, Paris, and within Turkey's NATO delegation. He served as the Turkish ambassador to Switzerland from 1960 to 1964. Subsequently, he was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1966 and again from 1969 to 1972. During his tenure in Ankara, he served twice as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Kuneralp was a proponent of Turkish-Greek friendship and engaged in efforts to improve relations following the conflicts over Cyprus between 1954 and 1964. During his diplomatic service, he developed progressive multiple sclerosis, which eventually impaired his mobility severely.

In 1978, while serving as the Turkish ambassador in Madrid, Kuneralp survived an assassination attempt. The attack resulted in the deaths of his wife, Necla Kuneralp, and her brother, retired Ambassador Beşir Balcıoğlu. The assailants, a militant Armenian group identified as ASALA or the Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide, opened fire on Kuneralp’s car outside his residence. The attack also injured his Spanish driver, Antonio Torres, marking the first time a non-Turkish person was fatally wounded in such an assassination campaign against Turkish officials.

Kuneralp retired from diplomatic service in 1979 due to health issues and dedicated himself to writing and publishing. His literary works include an autobiography titled "Sadece Diplomat," translated into English as "Just a Diplomat" in 1992. He also edited his father’s autobiography and authored works on Turkish diplomatic history and recent developments in Turkey.

He passed away on July 26, 1998, in Istanbul due to progressive multiple sclerosis. Posthumous articles and publications highlighted his life and personality, including "Ambassador Extraordinary" in the magazine Cornucopia and a volume of memoirs titled "Zeki Kuneralp 1914–1998: A Tribute by Friends and Family," published by the Isis Press in Istanbul.

Kuneralp was known for his admiration for Switzerland, his upbringing there, and his linguistic skills in Swiss German dialect. He had two sons: Sinan, a prominent publisher in Istanbul, and Selim, who pursued a diplomatic career and served as Turkey's ambassador to Sweden and South Korea. His great-grandson is Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who is a descendant of Ali Kemal.