Türkiye has formally nominated Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General and former Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general. The nomination letter signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was submitted to the UN after an informal straw poll held by the UN Security Council on October 30 also failed to produce a result.
Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız, said they had conveyed the letter to the presidents of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. Sinirlioğlu's curriculum vitae and vision statement were also included in the application file.
Erdoğan: He has experience and a culture of consensus
The letter, dated October 30, 2026, was addressed to Aglaia Balta, Greece's Permanent Representative to the UN, whose country held the Security Council presidency in October. Referring to the selection process launched by the UN with a letter dated November 25, 2025, Erdoğan wrote: "I am pleased to nominate Ambassador Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations."
Highlighting Sinirlioğlu's more than 40 years of diplomatic experience, Erdoğan said that, with his strategic vision, in-depth knowledge of the UN system and commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, Sinirlioğlu "possesses the experience and culture of consensus necessary to lead the United Nations."
The letter recalled that the UN secretary-general appointed Sinirlioğlu in 2023 to lead the independent assessment process on Afghanistan established by Security Council Resolution 2679, and that Sinirlioğlu had been working since December 2024 to strengthen the OSCE's role in dialogue and confidence-building. Erdoğan also stressed that Sinirlioğlu has been a consistent advocate for the rights of women and girls.
Erdoğan said the nomination was intended to make a constructive contribution to the selection of a secretary-general at a time of deepening geopolitical divisions and declining international trust.
Nomination submitted after process stalls
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson's office said the latest straw poll showed that consensus had still not been reached on a new secretary-general and that the process had reached an impasse, explaining that the nomination was submitted for this reason.
Ambassador Yıldız also said Türkiye respected the convention that the candidate in this election should come from the Latin American and Caribbean region, but no candidate from the region had secured the required majority in the ballots conducted with color-coded ballots. Yıldız said the nomination was intended to facilitate the UN's work.
Envoy magazine reported that Costa Rican Rebeca Grynspan appeared to be leading in the latest straw polls, but continued to receive four "discourage" votes. Sinirlioğlu became the candidate to join the race at the final stage.
How is the election conducted?
A candidate for secretary-general must receive at least nine affirmative votes in the Security Council and avoid a veto from any of its five permanent members: the United States, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom. The nominee recommended by the Council is appointed by the 193-member General Assembly. Antonio Guterres' term will end on December 31, 2026.
Born in 1956, Sinirlioğlu joined the Foreign Ministry in 1982. He served as ambassador to Israel from 2002 to 2007, as undersecretary of foreign affairs from 2009 to 2015 and from 2015 to 2016, as foreign minister from August to November 2015, and as Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the UN from 2016 to 2023.
