Flag of Ghana
Flag of Ghana
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| Use |
National flag and state ensign |
| Proportion |
2:3 |
| Adopted |
1957 (readopted 1966) |
| Design |
Horizontal tricolour of red, gold, and green, with a black star in the center |
| Designed by |
Theodosia Okoh |
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| Variant flag of Ghana |
| Use |
Civil ensign |
| Proportion |
2:3 |
| Design |
A red field with the national flag, fimbriated in black, in the canton |
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| Variant flag of Ghana |
| Use |
Naval ensign |
| Proportion |
2:3 |
| Design |
Red St. George cross on white ensign, with the national flag in canton. |
The flag of Ghana was designed to replace the flag of the United Kingdom upon attainment of independence in 1957. It was flown until 1959, and then reinstated in 1966. It consists of the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, in horizontal stripes, with a black five-pointed star in the centre of the gold stripe. The Ghanaian flag was the first African flag after the flag of Ethiopia to feature these colours.
The black star was adopted from the flag of the Black Star Line, a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey that operated from 1919 to 1922.,[1] and gives the Ghana national football team their nickname, the Black Stars.
The red represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence, the gold represents the mineral wealth of the country, the green symbolises the country's rich forests and natural wealth, and the black star stands for "the lodestar of African freedom".
The flag's design influenced that of the flag of Guinea-Bissau (1973).
National ensign
The civil ensign is a red flag with the national flag in a black-fimbriated canton. The naval ensign is a red St. George cross on white flag, with the national flag in canton.
Air force ensign and civil air ensign
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| The ensign of the Ghana Air Force |
The Ghanaian civil air ensign |
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The Ghana Air Force has its own ensign which incorporates the flag of Ghana. Civil aviation in Ghana is represented by the national civil air ensign. It is a standard light blue field with the Ghanaian flag in the canton. It is charged in the fly with either a red, yellow and green roundel (in the case of the military ensign) or black five-pointed star (in the case of the civil ensign). they have both been used since independence, and the subsequent founding of the Ghana Air Force in 1959.
History
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| Flag of the British colony of the Gold Coast, prior to independence |
Flag of Union of African States |
Ghana National flag, 1964-1966. |
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The flag adopted in 1957 was flown until 1959, when Ghana joined with Guinea to form the Union of African States. The flag of the Union was modelled on Bolivia's flag, but with two black stars, representing the two nations. In May, 1959, Mali joined the union, and it was later decided to add a third star to represent it. Nowhere specified how the stars were arranged, and it was possible that they were arranged in a triangle, although the three-in-a-line formation (as shown here) is more likely.[2]
From 1964-66 the Union became unstable and Ghana adopted a green, white and red tricolor, similar to the flag of Hungary but with a central black star. The original 1957 flag was reinstated in 1966.
References
- ^ Crampton, William George (1993). "Marcus Garvey and the Rasta colours". Report of the 13th International Congress of Vexillology, Melbourne, 1989. Flag Society of Australia. pp. 169–180. ISBN 0-646-14343-3.
- ^ Union of African States at Flags of the World
External links
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| National flags |
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| National coats of arms |
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