Born in 1966, Sunel graduated from Istanbul University Law School and did his postgraduate in Law at Bochum Ruhr University in Germany. A career diplomat, Sunel served in Bangkok, Bonn, Essen, and Tbilisi before becoming Consul General in Düsseldorf, Ambassador in Asmara/Eritrea (2013-2016) and Director General for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sunel’s published novels include Salkım Söğütlerin Gölgesinde [In the Shade of the Weeping Willows, 2011], Izmirli (Izmirli My Last Love, 2015) and Sarpıncık Feneri (The Lighthouse Family, 2020) His first novel has been translated into Azerbaijani, Albanian, Georgian and Malayalam, and inspired Büyük Sürgün: Kafkasya [The Great Exile – Caucasia], a TV series (IMDb 7.9/10). Fırat Sunel is currently the Turkish Ambassador to India, Nepal and Bhutan.