Turkey has nominated Feridun Sinirlioglu, head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations.
The nomination, submitted on October 30 and announced the following day, puts an experienced Turkish diplomat into the race to succeed António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on December 31, 2026. Turkey’s UN ambassador, Ahmet Yildiz, submitted the nomination with the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to reports by the Anadolu news agency and the Associated Press.
The move comes as the selection process faces a deadlock. A UN Security Council straw poll held on October 30 ended without a conclusive outcome, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources cited by Anadolu.
Who is Feridun Sinirlioglu?
Sinirlioglu has held several senior diplomatic positions during a career spanning more than four decades.
He served as Turkey’s foreign minister in the country’s interim government in 2015. From 2016 to 2023, he represented Turkey as its permanent representative to the United Nations. In December 2024, he became secretary-general of the OSCE, an organization that brings together countries from Europe, North America, and Central Asia to address security, conflict prevention, and regional cooperation.
How is the next UN chief selected?
The UN secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.
The Security Council has 15 members. A candidate needs at least nine votes and must avoid a veto from any of its five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
These voting rules give the permanent members significant influence over the final choice. The General Assembly makes the formal appointment after the Security Council recommends a candidate.
The UN’s selection process for the next secretary-general began in 2025. Member states nominate candidates, who submit their qualifications and vision for the organization. Candidates also take part in public interactive dialogues with UN member states.
A crowded race to succeed António Guterres
Sinirlioglu joins a field of candidates seeking to replace Guterres when his term ends.
Other nominees include Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Guyana’s UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, former Ecuadorian foreign minister María Fernanda Espinosa, former Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu, Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki, and United Arab Emirates diplomat Lana Zaki Nusseibeh. Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and former Senegalese President Macky Sall were also nominated earlier in the process, but their candidacies have since been withdrawn.
An informal regional rotation has often influenced expectations about who should lead the UN. Some observers have pointed to Latin America and the Caribbean as a possible source of the next secretary-general. However, the UN Charter does not require the position to rotate among regions.
The selection will ultimately depend on the Security Council’s recommendation and the General Assembly’s appointment.
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