On 1 November 2026, Turkey announced that it had formally nominated Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu, the secretary‑general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as its candidate for the United Nations secretary‑general. The announcement was made on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, where Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan explained the purpose of the nomination.
Fidan told Anadolu and Turkish public broadcaster TRT that Turkey’s bid was intended to "provide a diplomatic contribution aimed at overcoming the impasse." The UN selection process was said to have stalled after several Latin American candidates attempted to advance, creating a stalemate that prompted Ankara to act.
Our goal is to provide a diplomatic contribution aimed at overcoming the impasse,
Fidan added. He noted that Turkey had been closely monitoring the process for about a year, that Latin Americans were traditionally expected to produce the next secretary‑general, but that the current deadlock was unprecedented.
The nomination was sent in a letter dated Friday to the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and transmitted by Turkey’s UN ambassador Ahmet Yıldız. The letter came after voting that included the United Arab Emirates’ candidate Lana Nusseibeh.
Turkey said it had been prepared to submit its own candidate only if the selection process became truly deadlocked. Fidan emphasized that the move was a diplomatic contribution rather than a bid to dominate the competition.
