Turkey applies for official name change to ‘strengthen’ country’s brand, culture

The U.N. has approved Turkey’s motion to change its name from the Republic of Turkey to Türkiye as part of a rebranding effort. 

U.N. Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric de la Riviere told Fox News Digital that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu submitted the request on Wednesday, at which point the change occurred “effective immediately.” 

“As long as the letter from the Permanent Mission is deemed bonafide and that there’s no apparent conflict with another country, then the request is processed right away,” Dujarric explained. 

The name Türkiye is pronounced “tur-key-YAY” and it served as the country’s name in 1923 when it formed a new nation following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The country used the title of the Republic of Turkey instead on the international stage. 

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Countries occasionally request name changes: in 2019, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia became the Republic of North Macedonia; in 2018, Swaziland became Eswatini. Changes often occur when a country seeks to have its name in its official name, such as when Ivory Coast changed to Cote d’Ivoire.

“The letter was addressed to the U.N. to deal with the country’s official name within the organization,” Dujarric added, noting that Turkey may plan to use the name in other areas, but the U.N. would not have any input. 

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed for the change in December, arguing that the new name would better represent Turkish culture and values. The name could be used on exported products and on official documents. 

The nation’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun claimed in a tweet at the time of the name change that “another important step was taken to strengthen the Turkish brand.”

Earlier this year, the government also released a promotional video as part of its attempts to change its name in English. The video shows tourists from across the world saying “Hello Türkiye” at famous destinations.

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Official government Twitter accounts have started using Türkiye. The change will help “promote more effectively the use of ‘Türkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms,” according to the Directorate of Communications.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.