Flag of Togo

Togolese Republic
Use National flag and ensign
Proportion 1:1.618
Adopted 28 April 1960
Designed by Paul Ahyi

The flag of Togo was adopted on April 28, 1960. It has five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow. There is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner. It uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia, but the design resembles the flag of Liberia which itself echoes the flag of the United States.

The flag was designed by artist Paul Ahyi and approximates a golden rectangle closely.[1] Ahyi (1930 – January 4, 2010) was regarded as among the greatest of African artists of his generation. Born in Togo, Ahyi graduated from the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts[2] in Paris in 1959 and returned to Togo. He designed the flag of Togo while working on other contemporary works.[3]

Symbology

The three colours - green, red and yellow - are the Pan-African colors, borrowed from the flag of Ethiopia.

The red in the canton symbolizes the blood shed by the martyrs of independence which bears the white star of hope. The green bands represent each the forests, agriculture and hope of the future. The yellow bands both represent the natural resources of the land.

Historical flags

References

  1. ↑ "Flag of Togo". FOTW.us. Flags Of The World. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
  2. ↑ "Paul Ahyi of Togo joins roster of UNESCO Artists for Peace". United Nations. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  3. ↑ Décès de Paul Ahyi, le Picasso africain (French) Le Telegramme