Türkiye prepares to nominate Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general

Türkiye is preparing to nominate former Foreign Minister and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general, Türkiye Today reported. The nomination is expected to be announced on Friday evening after Thursday’s Security Council vote.

Türkiye is preparing to nominate former Foreign Minister and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general, Türkiye Today reported.

Türkiye Today reported, citing Turkish sources, that Ankara plans to announce Sinirlioğlu’s nomination on Friday evening after an informal vote at the UN Security Council on Thursday. An official said Thursday would be “critical” and that Ankara would finalize its decision after seeing how the Council responds to the other candidates.

Six ballots produce no result

OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu

None of the candidates secured the support of all five permanent members in the six informal ballots held so far at the Security Council. Rebeca Grynspan, Costa Rica’s former vice president, appears to be leading, while International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi is also considered among the strong candidates. If Sinirlioğlu’s nomination is announced, he will become the eighth candidate in the race.

The Turkish official said Türkiye was “not positioning itself against one or several candidates,” adding that “the world is bigger than five.” Türkiye Today also reported that the United Arab Emirates’ candidate faced serious objections over the candidate’s positions on crisis regions.

Erdoğan speaks with leaders

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is also speaking by phone with the leaders of countries that are members of the Security Council ahead of the process. In his latest call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Erdoğan stressed that the new secretary-general must have the vision and experience to make the UN the center of multilateralism again.

Who is Sinirlioğlu?

Born in Giresun in 1956, Sinirlioğlu graduated from Ankara University’s Faculty of Political Sciences and completed his master’s degree and doctorate at Boğaziçi University. He served twice as Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, from 2009 to 2015 and from 2015 to 2016, and served as foreign minister in the caretaker government from August to November 2015. Sinirlioğlu was Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN from 2016 to 2023 and has served as OSCE secretary-general since December 2024.

A candidate for secretary-general must receive at least nine favorable votes in the Security Council and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members. The nominee recommended by the Council is submitted for approval to the 193-member General Assembly. Antonio Guterres’s term will end on December 31, 2026, and the new secretary-general will take office on January 1, 2027.

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Türkiye prepares to nominate Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general