As of June 2, the official English name of Turkey at the United Nations will be “Turkiye,” instead of “Turkey” as it was previously known.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric announced that they received a letter from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, requesting to change the name from “Turkey” to “Turkiye” in all instances.
Mr. Dujarric stated that the name change is effective immediately, according to BBC.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu submitted the letter requesting the change of his country’s English name to “Turkiye.” (Photo: BBC).
Several international agencies, government organizations, and exporting companies will also be required to use the name Turkiye in their correspondence and on labels of origin.
Turkey began the process of changing its name to Turkiye in December 2021 when President Tayyip Erdogan announced a memorandum and urged the public to use the name Turkiye in all languages.
“Turkiye is the name that best reflects the culture, civilization, and values of the Turkish people,” Erdogan stated in December 2021.
The state television channel TRT changed its name at that time, explaining that one of the reasons for the name change was that the English name Turkey is also the name of a type of bird used during Christmas, New Year, and Thanksgiving.
There have been instances of countries changing their names in recent years. In 2020, the Netherlands removed the English name “Holland.” Previously, Macedonia had to change its name to North Macedonia due to political disputes with Greece.
