He graduated from the University of Ljubljana in 1975 with a degree in law and later obtained his PhD with a thesis on the principle of non-intervention in international law in 1982.

President Türk became Director of the Institute on International Law at the University of Ljubljana in 1983. Additionally, he was a member of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, a UN body of independent experts. In that capacity he served, between 1986 and 1992, as the UN Special Rapporteur on the realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In 1990-1991, Türk took part in the drafting of the Constitution of Slovenia by preparing the draft chapter related to human rights and fundamental freedoms.

From 1992 to 2000, he became the first Slovene Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and represented Slovenia on the UN Security Council in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, he was invited by Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General, to serve as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs (2000-2005). In 2005, he returned to Slovenia as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana. He was elected as President in 2007 as an independent, being supported by several political parties. Dr. Türk chaired the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace between 2015 and 2016, which published the report “A Matter of Survival” (2017). In 2016, he was one of the candidates for the post of the Secretary-General of the UN.

In 2019, he was elected as President of World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid, organization of more than 120 former Presidents and Prime Ministers. He continues to work within various international institutions, including United Nations as well as with non – governmental organizations and initiatives in the fields of multilateral cooperation and international law.