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Turkey officially changes its name at UN to ‘Turkiye’

President Erdogan has been pressing for the name to be changed to ‘Türkiye’ (tur-key-yay) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish

by Zubina Ahmed

June 3, 2022

Turkey officially changes its name at UN to ‘Turkiye’

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu formally requested the United Nations that his country be referred to as ‘Türkiye’, the state-run news agency reported.

The move is seen as part of a push by Ankara to rebrand the country and dissociate its name from the bird, turkey and some negative connotations that are associated with it.

Anadolu Agency said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, confirmed receipt of the letter late on Wednesday, June 1.

The agency quoted Dujarric as saying that the name change had become effective “from the moment” the letter was received.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has been pressing for the internationally recognized name to be changed to ‘Türkiye’ (tur-key-yay) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish.

Ülkemizin marka değerini yükseltmek için Sayın Cumhurbaşkanımız @RTErdogan liderliğinde başlattığımız süreç nihayete eriyor.

BM Genel Sekreteri’ne bugün gönderdiğim mektupla ülkemizin BM nezdinde yabancı dillerdeki adını da “Türkiye” olarak tescil ediyoruz.

Hayırlı olsun! ?? pic.twitter.com/Zd9UIv2eVy

— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) May 31, 2022

In December, Erdogan ordered the name change to better represent Turkish culture and values, including demanding that ‘Made in Türkiye’ be used instead of ‘Made in Turkey’ on exported products. Turkish ministries began using “Türkiye” in official documents. It is also a name the country called itself when it gained independence in 1923.

Say ‘Hello Türkiye’

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.

The Turkish presidency’s directorate of communications said it launched the campaign “to promote more effectively the use of ‘Türkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms.”

TRT World explained the decision in an article earlier this year, saying Googling “Turkey” brings up a “a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris – otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America – which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners.