The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU) fought off the pressure from the Zaev regime to change its name and adopted the imposed “North Macedonia” name. MANU did not join many institutions who changed their names in 2019, such as the Macedonian Opera and Ballet (now National Opera and Ballet) or the People’s Bank of the Republic of Macedonia which adopted “North” in its name.

After refusing the demand to rename itself, MANU was faced with law submitted before Parliament that would’ve imposed the name change into the “Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republic of North Macedonia – MANU”. The academy refused to accept this pressure and notified the Parliament that it is opposed to the law. After some back and forth, earlier this week Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi notified MANU that the law is being withdrawn.