What's in a name? A lot — especially when it's the name of a country. And for one island nation in the Asia Pacific, there's a movement for a constitutional amendment to make a change.
The leader of Nauru has introduced a bill to change the country's name to “Naoero.” President David Adeang wants to do that by changing the constitution.
With a population of about 12,000 across its territory of roughly 8 square miles, the tiny island nation in Micronesia is recognized as the world's smallest republic. It's also the third-smallest state, after Vatican City and Monaco.
Settled about 3,000 years ago by Micronesian and Polynesian people, its history has included time as a German colony and an administered territory of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The government explained that the name "Nauru" was adopted internationally since its independence in 1968 because "Naoero" was difficult for non-natives to pronounce.
The proposed change aims to restore the nation's original name and cultural identity.
The bill will return for parliamentary debate this spring, where, to become law, it requires a two-thirds majority vote, followed by a national referendum.
