Turkiye is considering nominating former foreign minister for top United Nations job

Updated 4 min 41 sec ago

Arab News Pakistan

October 3, 2026 00:00

NEW YORK: Turkish officials have begun scouting potential talent for the position of United Nations Secretary‑General after senior diplomats publicly expressed interest in veteran statesman Feridun Sinirlioglu. The 70‑year‑old former Turkish foreign minister and long‑time UN diplomat floated his candidacy earlier this week at the UN General Assembly’s high‑level meeting, according to two unnamed diplomats briefed on the matter.

The candidacy, currently unconfirmed, underscores the intensifying competition among seasoned global leaders seeking the role of chief bureaucrat of the world’s nearest‑neighborhood organization. As the contest unfolds without a clear frontrunner, observers note that selecting a permanent secretary‑general represents arguably the most demanding interview process any political office can undertake.

While the Turkish foreign ministry declined requests for comment, Sinirlioglu now serves as the secretary‑general of the Vienna‑based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His current three‑year term concludes in December 2027, though the top UN post opens at the start of January 2027.

An OSCE spokesperson indicated that because Sinirlioglu has not yet been formally nominated, the organization refrained from offering an official statement. Founded during the Cold War as a bridge between East and West, the 57‑member security‑cooperation body shares the UN’s broad remit in areas such as conflict prevention, human rights, election monitoring, and arms control.

The selection process will fall to the fifteen‑nation UN Security Council—particularly the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France—which remain coy about their preferences. Concurrently, the 193‑member General Assembly holds the final approval authority.

Should Turkey eventually endorse Sinirlioglu, several diplomatic hurdles loom. Neighboring Greece, one of the council’s ten elected members, is likely to voice opposition, while heightened tensions persist with Israel—a close U.S. ally. Israeli Representative Danny Danon recently condemned Turkey’s military presence in Syria, warning against using Syrian soil as a staging ground for threats toward Israel. He remarked that if sovereignty truly matters, standards must apply equally to all parties.

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