Yucel Guclu

Zeki Kuneralp and the Turkish Foreign Service Yucel Guclu

This book is not a conventional biography. It is not only a portrait of a larger-than-life Turkish diplomat, whose Foreign Service career spanned almost four decades - from 1941 to 1979 - but also offers a glimpse into the evolution of the organization of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and provides an account of the attitudes and methods of the Ministry's officials. A good biography should cast light upon its subject's times as well as his - or her - life; upon the way things were done, as much as upon the way a particular individual reacted and behaved. As such, in this book, not only is Zeki Kuneralp the man addressed but also the great developments of his time are explored extensively. The book blends biographical narrative with explorations of various aspects of the foreign policy issues with which Kuneralp was involved. The book treats in detail the major problems with which Kuneralp was directly concerned at each of his postings: that is, meeting the right people abroad, promoting Turkish interests, reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, subordinating local matters to the political and economic goals of Turkey, and conducting diplomacy so as always to be in accord with Ankara's policy makers, whose big picture he always kept in mind.