Nauru moves to change its name in break from colonial past

The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru will hold a referendum over a government decision to change its official name.

The Nauruan parliament on Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment to rename the country "Naoero," New Zealand broadcaster RNZ reported, as the government looks to shed what it sees as a relic from the tiny nation's colonial past.

The referendum is required to validate the constitutional change.

President David Adeang first tabled the proposal in January.

Why is Nauru's name being changed?

Nauru's native tongue is "Dorerin Naoero", which a majority of its almost 10,000 citizens speak alongside English.

The government said that the island came to be called Nauru because "foreign tongues" distorted the native language.

"Nauru emerged because Naoero could not be properly pronounced by foreign tongues, and was changed not by our choice, but for convenience," the government said in a statement.

The change in name would "more faithfully honor" the nation's heritage, language and identity Adeang said on Tuesday night.

Nauru's colonial history

Nauru is the world's smallest island republic, measuring just 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles).

From the late 1880s up until World War I, Nauru was claimed by Germany as a protectorate.

The south pacific island was then captured by Australian troops and was  jointly administered by Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand before it gained independence in 1968.

Colonizing powers tapped Nauru's unusually pure phosphate deposits to use as fertilizer. Continued phosphate mining after independence created an economic boom but the deposits have since dried up, leaving the center of the island barren and uninhabitable.

Edited by: Zac Crellin