Flag of Namibia
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| Use | National flag and ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 21 March 1990 |
| Design | A white-edged red diagonal band radiating from the lower hoist-side corner. The upper triangle is blue, charged with a gold sun with 12 triangular rays and the lower triangle is green. |
| Designed by | Frederick Brownell[1] or Roy Allen[2] |
The flag of Namibia was adopted on March 21, 1990 upon independence from South Africa.
The main colours were taken from the flag of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), the most important liberation movement in Namibia. That flag was adopted in 1971 and comprises diagonal stripes of blue-red-green. The flag also represents the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, another Namibian political party. The gold 12 pointed sun, represents life and energy.
Design
There are different accounts on how the design was chosen. Frederick Brownell claims that he designed the flag in his role as South African State Herald. The chairman of the subcommittee that chose the flag out of 850 submissions explained the symbolism of the flag's colours thusly:[1]
- Red - represents Namibia's most important resource, its people. It refers to their heroism and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all.
- White - refers to peace and unity.
- Green - symbolises vegetation and agricultural resources.
- Blue - represents the clear Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country's precious water resources and rain.
Brit Roy Allen claims that the flag design was the result of a competition run by Hannes Smith of the Windhoek Observer, and that he won. His intended symbolism meant the red bar across the flag to stand for the blood shed during the Namibian War of Independence, green for the country's agriculture, and blue to represent the Atlantic Ocean. The sun represented his hope for good governance; the meaning stems from an Egyptian pictogram.[2]
Red, white, and blue were the colours of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, and blue, red, and green, the colours of SWAPO.
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Description
The flag has a white-edged red diagonal band diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner. The upper triangle is blue with a gold sun with 12 triangular rays and the lower triangle is green.
In Blazon: Tierced per bend sinister Azure, and Vert, a bend sinister Gules fimbriated Argent and in dexter chief a Sun with twelve straight rays Or charged with an annulet Azure.
Historical flags
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Flag of German South-West Africa from April 24, 1884 to July 9, 1915.
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Merchant flag of South-West Africa from 1915 to 1928.
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Flag of South West Africa from 1960 to March 21, 1990 under Trusteeships with South Africa.
References
- 1 2 (reported by) FG Brownell (December 1990), Coats of Arms and Flags in Namibia (A series of 8 articles.)
- 1 2 Schütz, Helge (23 October 2015). "Allen from Plymouth ... The man who designed the Namibian flag". The Namibian.
External links
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