Turkey Nominates Feridun Sinirlioglu for UN Secretary-General

The Government of Turkey formally nominated Feridun Sinirlioglu for the position of United Nations secretary-general on October 30. Sinirlioglu, the current secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, is one of eight candidates vying to succeed António Guterres, whose term expires on December 31.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the nomination, which follows a period where Turkey waited out of respect for regional preferences favoring a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean. Turkish U.N. envoy Ahmet Yıldız stated the nomination aims to resolve a current impasse after no other candidate secured consensus. Sinirlioglu previously served as Turkey's foreign minister in 2015 and as the country's permanent representative to the United Nations from 2016 to 2023.

The selection process requires a recommendation from the 15-nation U.N. Security Council and final approval from the 193-member General Assembly. While backed by Erdogan, who has frequently called for institutional reform of the Security Council, Sinirlioglu faces potential opposition from Israel and Greece. Greece currently serves as an elected member of the Security Council.