Now it’s Türkiye, not Turkey, at the United Nations

ANKARA (NYTIMES) – Turkey has changed its name at the United Nations, in the biggest push yet by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to get the rest of the world to call the country by its Turkish language name, Türkiye (tur-KEE-yeh).

The name is not new to the Turkish people, who have used it since their country was established in 1923 after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

But equally common in the country has been the Anglicised version of the name, which, for some, brings the negative connotations associated with the English language word.

The change at the UN was set in motion last winter by Mr Erdogan, whose popularity has sagged since he was reelected in 2018 and comes as his constituents grapple with soaring food prices and the plummeting value of the Turkish lira.

“It is an attempt also to show to the Turkish public at home and to Turks living in Germany and other Western European countries that Erdogan has the power to assert his will beyond the political boundaries of the country,” said Dr Mustafa Aksakal, a professor of history at Georgetown University in Washington.

“The name change may seem silly to some but it puts Erdogan in the role of protector, of safeguarding international respect for the country.”

Over the past two decades, Mr Erdogan has pitched to voters visions of past Ottoman grandeur as he tried to widen his country’s influence with increased trade and military deployments. But he has not been able to keep economic problems at bay, and before elections, due before June 2023, his opposition has shown signs of strength.

Next year is also the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, for which Mr Erdogan has long planned celebrations. His vision of the country, appealing to conservative Muslims, is much different from the secular republic founded by former president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

At the UN, the change was requested in a letter from Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey that was received on Wednesday (June 1) and took effect immediately, according to a spokesman for the UN.

The new official name of the country in English is the Republic of Türkiye. Historians trace the first written mention of Türkiye to the eighth century in present-day Mongolia, Dr Aksakal said.

Mr Erdogan’s dislike of the Anglicised name was on display in December 2019, when he unveiled prototypes of a locally made electric car. He signalled that products should say they were “Made in Türkiye’, not “Made in Turkey”.

He advocated for the phrase more forcefully two years later, issuing a memorandum saying that Türkiye best represents Turkish culture and history, and that it should be used as the country’s name in all languages.

Following the memorandum, many public institutions within the country started using Türkiye. Some foreign counterparts also started using the Turkish word, according to a Turkish official.