Turkey Nominates Veteran Diplomat Feridun Sinirlioglu To Succeed Guterres As UN Secretary-General

Turkey has formally nominated veteran diplomat Feridun Sinirlioglu to succeed António Guterres as United Nations secretary-general, entering an increasingly competitive race after the selection process reached an impasse.

The nomination was submitted on October 30 with the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's UN representative Ahmet Yildiz said. He forwarded Erdogan's nomination letter to the presidents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, accompanied by Sinirlioglu's curriculum vitae and vision statement.

Ankara's decision followed the seventh informal Security Council straw poll, which failed to produce a consensus candidate. Yildiz said Turkey had initially waited out of respect for the informal regional rotation convention favouring Latin America and the Caribbean but decided to enter the contest after the selection process stalled.

The 70-year-old Sinirlioglu briefly served as Turkey's foreign minister in 2015 and was its permanent representative to the UN from 2016 to 2023. He currently heads the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a position he assumed in December 2024. His current mandate runs until December 2027, although the next UN secretary-general is scheduled to take office on January 1, 2027.

In his nomination letter, Erdogan highlighted Sinirlioglu's more than four decades of diplomatic experience, knowledge of the UN system and ability to build consensus among countries with competing interests.

His candidacy also reflects Erdogan's longstanding demand for reform of the UN Security Council and criticism of the dominance exercised by its five permanent members.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica's former vice-president Rebeca Grynspan remains the frontrunner. In the latest informal Security Council straw poll held on Friday, she secured 11 votes in favour and four against, her strongest result across seven ballots. Argentina's Rafael Grossi received nine favourable votes, followed by Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett with eight. The UAE's Lana Nusseibeh secured seven votes in favour, six against and two expressing no opinion.

The contest could also make history, as the United Nations has never had a woman secretary-general. The informal regional rotation convention favours Latin America and the Caribbean for the next appointment, potentially giving candidates from the region an advantage.

The 15-member UN Security Council will recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly, which makes the final appointment. A recommendation requires at least nine favourable votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

Sinirlioglu could face diplomatic resistance from Greece, Turkey's neighbour and a Security Council member, as well as Israel, a close US ally.