Turkey nominates Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general as Security Council vote stalls

The nomination

Turkey has put forward Feridun Sinirlioğlu, currently Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as a candidate to succeed António Guterres at the head of the United Nations. Anadolu, citing sources at the Turkish foreign ministry, reported the move on Saturday, 31 October. The nomination letter is dated Friday, 30 October, and was addressed to the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Turkey's permanent representative to the UN, Ahmet Yıldız, is named as the envoy who delivered it. Reports differ on the signatory, as Deutsche Welle's Spanish-language coverage says Erdoğan signed the letter, while Notícias ao Minuto describes it as Erdoğan's letter transmitted by Yıldız. Handelsblatt describes Sinirlioğlu as a compromise candidate, put forward because the Council has not agreed on anyone.

Sinirlioğlu represented Turkey at the UN from 2016 to 2023, and Handelsblatt reports he was briefly foreign minister during the 2015 interim government. He was elected unanimously as OSCE secretary-general in late 2024, a post based in Vienna. Handelsblatt notes that he meets none of the criteria most often cited for the job, namely being a woman or coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, but says he has the backing of Erdoğan. Turkish foreign ministry sources, as cited by Notícias ao Minuto, said the nomination was made after a deadlock in the selection process.

A stalled field

The process to pick Guterres's successor began at the end of 2025, according to BBC. The seventh straw poll, held in closed session on Friday, ended without a clear favourite. Rebeca Grynspan, the former vice-president of Costa Rica who chairs the UN Conference on Trade and Development, again finished first, ahead of Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, a former foreign minister of Guyana. BBC reports that Grynspan received 11 support votes in the 30 October poll, but she had earlier faced negative votes from permanent members, so her lead is not secure.

Macky Sall, the former Senegalese president, has withdrawn from the race, and Lana Nusseibeh, a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates, has entered it. Nusseibeh placed fourth by vote count in the seventh round, according to Notícias ao Minuto. BBC counts seven candidates before Turkey's letter arrived, while Deutsche Welle's own figures differ, giving 10 rivals in its headline and 11 names besides Sinirlioğlu in its text. Deutsche Welle also notes that more countries could still put forward candidates.

How the selection works

The Security Council's 15 members run the choice through straw polls in which each member marks a candidate as support, no support or no opinion. To be selected, a candidate needs at least nine votes and must avoid a veto from one of the five permanent members, the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France. Once the Council reaches consensus, the name goes to the 193 members of the General Assembly, which in practice follows the Council's recommendation.

A regional rotation would normally put a Latin American or Caribbean candidate in the post, and many states also want the first woman secretary-general in UN history. The United Kingdom and France had earlier said they would like to see a woman lead the UN, according to Deutsche Welle. Turkey and the United Arab Emirates both have candidates from outside that region. Guterres's second term ends on 31 December 2026, and Deutsche Welle expects the new secretary-general to be in office from 1 January 2027.

Ankara's read of the deadlock

Ankara's assessment, as reported by BBC, is that the deadlock opens room for new candidates. Turkey's letter followed directly after the seventh round, which ended on 30 October without agreement on any candidate. Handelsblatt reports that Erdoğan has for years called for reform of the UN system, particularly the structure of the Security Council. The nomination now sits with the Council, where the five permanent members hold the decisive votes.