Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has formally nominated OSCE Secretary-General and former Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu as a candidate for UN secretary-general. The nomination letter was sent to the UN on October 30, after another informal vote in the Security Council once again failed to produce a leader.
Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN, Ahmet Yıldız, delivered the letter to the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The application included the candidate’s biography and a document outlining his vision.
“Experience and a culture of consensus”
In the letter, Erdoğan emphasized that Sinirlioğlu has “the experience and culture of consensus necessary to lead the United Nations.” The Turkish leader highlighted the candidate’s more than 40 years of diplomatic experience, noting that he had served as foreign minister, deputy foreign minister and Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN.
Erdoğan also noted that in 2023, the UN secretary-general tasked Sinirlioğlu with leading an independent assessment of the situation in Afghanistan, established under Security Council Resolution 2679, and that Sinirlioğlu has led the OSCE Secretariat since December 2024. Erdoğan said Ankara’s decision was intended to make a constructive contribution to the election process amid deepening geopolitical divisions and declining trust among states.
The letter is dated October 30 and addressed to Greece’s permanent representative to the UN, Aglaia Balta, who is presiding over the Security Council in October.
The process reaches an impasse
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry explained that the latest vote showed there was no consensus on a candidate for the next secretary-general and that the election process was reaching an impasse. Yıldız emphasized that Ankara respects the tradition under which the secretary-general should come from Latin America and the Caribbean, but no candidate from the region secured the required majority.
To be elected, a candidate must receive at least nine votes in the Security Council and avoid a veto from any of its five permanent members—Russia, the United States, China, France and the United Kingdom. The General Assembly then approves the appointment. António Guterres’s term ends on December 31, 2026.
Who is Sinirlioğlu?
Sinirlioğlu was born in 1956 and has been in the diplomatic service since 1982. He served as Türkiye’s ambassador to Israel from 2002 to 2007, then as deputy foreign minister, as foreign minister in 2015, and as Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN from 2016 to 2023. He was elected OSCE secretary-general in December 2024.
