A former Turkish foreign minister who accused Israel of war crimes, the FIFA president who presented Donald Trump with a special peace prize, the diplomat overseeing negotiations on Gaza's future and a senior Emirati official who condemned the October 7 massacre are among the names now being discussed as possible candidates for the next United Nations secretary-general. Their emergence follows reports that the Trump administration is dissatisfied with all seven candidates currently seeking to succeed António Guterres.
According to Politico, citing officials familiar with internal administration discussions, Washington is searching for a candidate capable of fundamentally transforming the UN, which is struggling with a deep financial and political crisis.
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US President Donald Trump and former Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu
(Photo: Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP)
"There are no reformers of the kind the United States wants on the entire list of candidates. Some even appear likely to continue business as usual," an administration official told Politico. A State Department official explained that Washington is looking for someone willing to shake up the organization, rather than necessarily choosing a career diplomat who rose through its ranks.
Turkish diplomat who accused Israel of war crimes
One of the most intriguing names, and potentially one of the most concerning for Jerusalem, is Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey's former foreign minister and the current secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Sinirlioglu served as Turkey's ambassador to the United Nations from 2016 to 2023, frequently using the international organization's platform to criticize Israel. During Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, he condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, accused Israel of deliberately targeting schools operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and described such attacks as war crimes.
"If a classroom full of children had been blown up somewhere else, how many days would it have taken the Security Council to convene a public meeting?" he asked at the time. He accused the council of maintaining a silence that encouraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue Israeli military operations.
His relationship with Israel was not always confrontational. In 2016, Sinirlioglu led Turkey's negotiating team during talks to restore diplomatic relations between Ankara and Jerusalem after six years of tensions following the Mavi Marmara incident. He signed the reconciliation agreement on Turkey's behalf, opposite Dore Gold, then director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry.
Sinirlioglu is reportedly considering entering the race for UN secretary-general with encouragement from the White House. However, he has not formally announced his candidacy.
Trump's Gaza envoy and the FIFA president
Another figure being considered in Washington is Nickolay Mladenov, the Bulgarian diplomat serving as the senior representative of Trump's Board of Peace, the international body established to address Gaza's future.
Mladenov, a former UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, maintains close relationships with Israeli and Palestinian officials. He is currently leading negotiations over Hamas' disarmament and the establishment of an alternative governing mechanism in Gaza.
Nickolay Mladenov
(Photo: AP)
Despite those relationships, Mladenov has also criticized Israeli policy. In August, he accused the Israeli government of jeopardizing the ceasefire and undermining efforts to disarm Hamas. Addressing the Security Council, he questioned whether another attack on an ammunition depot would prevent Hamas from rearming or strengthening its control over Gaza, and answered that it would not.
At the same time, Mladenov has insisted that Hamas must surrender its weapons and dismantle its tunnel network. He has indicated, however, that the organization could continue operating as a political movement if it abandoned its military activities. Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised Mladenov's proposal, saying he was impressed by the central importance it placed on Israel's security.
Perhaps the most unconventional name mentioned in Trump's circle is Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, world soccer's governing body, and a close associate of the US president.
In December 2025, Infantino presented Trump with FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize during a ceremony in Washington. The decision drew attention, particularly because the precise criteria and justification for the award remained unclear.
Trump and Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA
(Photo: Justin Setterfield/AFP)
Infantino's record regarding Israel has been more favorable to Jerusalem than that of some other potential candidates. He resisted demands from Palestinian officials and pressure from other quarters to suspend Israel from international soccer following the war in Gaza.
In March, FIFA decided against taking action over Israeli clubs competing in West Bank settlements. Separately, the organization fined the Israel Football Association 150,000 Swiss francs after finding violations of its rules on discrimination and racism.
Infantino has not announced any intention to seek the UN position and is also pursuing another term as FIFA president.
The UAE diplomat who condemned October 7
Another potential candidate is Lana Nusseibeh, a senior diplomat from the United Arab Emirates who previously served as her country's ambassador to the United Nations.
Following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, Nusseibeh condemned the murder of Israeli civilians and the abduction of hostages, emphasizing that Hamas did not represent the Palestinian people.
Lana Nusseibeh
(Photo: Reuters /David Dee Delgado)
She subsequently criticized Israeli bombing operations in Gaza, describing them as indiscriminate, and called for a ceasefire and greater humanitarian access to the territory.
In December 2023, Nusseibeh played a significant role in advancing a UN Security Council resolution aimed at expanding humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
The frontrunner with family ties to Israel
Washington's search for alternatives poses a particularly serious challenge for Rebeca Grynspan, the former vice president of Costa Rica who remains the leading candidate in the race.
Grynspan, whose family includes Holocaust survivors, could become both the first woman and the first Jewish person to serve as UN secretary-general.
She also maintains close personal ties to Israel. Her sister lives in Mevaseret Zion, near Jerusalem, her nephews have served in the IDF, and she has additional relatives living in the West Bank.
Nevertheless, a Republican congressional official told Politico that Grynspan was too critical of Israel and too accommodating toward China. The official warned that her appointment could make it difficult to secure Republican support for continued US funding of the United Nations.
Rebeca Grynspan, the former vice president of Costa Rica
(Photo: UNCTAD)
Under Grynspan's leadership of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the organization has published reports attributing a significant part of the Palestinian economy's collapse to Israeli policies and military operations in Gaza.
A report published in September estimated that Gaza's recovery and reconstruction would require $71.5 billion.
Grynspan herself condemned the October 7 massacre and called for the release of the hostages, while also criticizing harm to Palestinian civilians during the war.
Despite the concerns in Washington, she continues to lead the Security Council's confidential informal straw polls. In the latest round, she received nine votes of encouragement and six votes of discouragement.
Another candidate still in contention is Rafael Grossi, the Argentine director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Grossi maintains working relationships with Israeli officials and is respected by some in Washington for his handling of the Iranian nuclear issue. Russia, however, is among the countries expressing reservations about his candidacy.
October 16 vote could reshape the race
The next critical moment in the succession contest is expected on October 16, when the Security Council is scheduled to conduct another informal vote that could provide further indications of opposition among its permanent members.
The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France each possess veto power, meaning that opposition from any one of them can prevent a candidate from securing the council's recommendation.
Guterres is due to complete his term on December 31. If Trump continues to oppose the existing candidates and no alternative emerges with sufficient international support, the UN could approach the new year without an agreed successor.
For Israel, the stakes extend well beyond the identity of the next secretary-general. The appointment could help determine whether its strained relationship with the United Nations continues after Guterres leaves office, or whether a new leadership opens the possibility of a different chapter.