Siamak Herawi was born in Herat province, Afghanistan, in 1968. He studied Persian language and literature at Kabul University, where he received a scholarship to attend Stavropol University in Moscow. In 1991, he received a master’s degree in Russian language and literature and returned to Afghanistan. Herawi started his career as a reporter at Bakhtar News Agency and later joined Anis Newspaper as it’s editor in chief. In 2003 he was appointed deputy spokesperson to President Hamid Kharzai, a position he held until 2012, when he was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as deputy spokesperson for the ministry. A year later, he was appointed chargés d’affaires of the Embassy of Afghanistan in London. Herawi resigned from his position in 2014 when Ashraf Ghani was elected president and remained in the UK. Despite his long career in politics, Siamak Herawi is most recognised as one of Afghanistan’s most prolific writers. His body of work includes twelve novels, which have been well received in his homeland.