Turkey’s UN representative Ahmet Yildiz says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backs the candidacy, which still needs a Security Council recommendation and appointment by the General Assembly.
Turkey has formally submitted Feridun Sinirlioglu’s candidacy for United Nations secretary-general with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s backing. Turkey’s UN representative, Ahmet Yildiz, told Anadolu about the submission, France 24 with AP said in its 31 October 2026 report.
The submission turns Sinirlioglu’s earlier expression of interest into a nationally backed nomination. He had floated his candidacy during the General Assembly’s high-level meeting in New York in September 2026. He is seeking to succeed António Guterres, who is finishing his second five-year term.
Turkey’s nomination does not appoint him. Article 97 of the UN Charter gives the Security Council responsibility for recommending a candidate and the General Assembly responsibility for making the appointment.
Sinirlioglu currently serves as secretary-general of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE. He was Turkey’s foreign minister for a few months in 2015, during an interim period between elections, and its UN ambassador from 2016 to 2023.
A Security Council recommendation requires support from at least 9 of its 15 members and no veto from a permanent member. The countries holding that power are the United States, Russia, China, the UK and France.
If Sinirlioglu secures the Council’s recommendation, the 193-member General Assembly must still appoint him by a majority vote. Without that recommendation, his nomination cannot advance to appointment under Article 97.
The UN expects the next secretary-general to be selected in 2026 and to begin the term on 1 January 2027. If appointed on that timetable, Sinirlioglu would take up the UN post before his current OSCE mandate is scheduled to end in December 2027.
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