Flag of the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

Name	Flag of the Falkland Islands
Use	Civil and state flag, state ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	25 January 1999 (1999-01-25)
Design	Blue Ensign with the coat-of-arms of the Falkland Islands in the fly.
Variant flag of the Falkland Islands
Name	Civil Ensign of the Falkland Islands
Use	Civil ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	25 January 1999 (1999-01-25)
Design	Red Ensign with the coat-of-arms of the Falkland Islands in the fly.
Variant flag of the Falkland Islands
Name	Flag of the Governor of the Falkland Islands
Use	Other
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	29 September 1948 (1948-09-29)
Design	A Union Flag defaced with the coat-of-arms of the Falkland Islands.

The current flag of the Falkland Islands was adopted on 25 January 1999 and consists of a defaced Blue Ensign, with the Union Flag in the canton and the Falkland Islands coat-of-arms in the fly.

The Falkland Islands have been claimed and occupied by several nations throughout its history, who generally used their national flags on the islands. It wasn't until 1876 that the islands were given a flag of their own, which consisted of a Blue Ensign defaced with the seal of the islands - an image of HMS Hebe (which brought many of the early British settlers to the islands, including Richard Moody, in the 1840s) in Falkland Sound, overlooked by a bullock (representing wild cattle which once roamed the islands).^[1] A new coat-of-arms for the islands was introduced on 16 October 1925, consisting of the Desire (which was captained by John Davis who is reputed to have discovered the islands in 1592) and a sea lion in a shield surrounded by the motto of the islands, Desire the Right. This coat-of-arms later replaced the image of the bullock and ship on the flag.^[2]

On 29 September 1948 the flag was updated to include the new coat-of-arms (a ram above the Desire on shield with the motto below) superimposed upon a white disc. The flag was banned by the Argentine military junta from 2 April-14 June 1982, during their occupation of the islands, when it was replaced by the flag of Argentina.

In 1999 the size of the arms was increased and the white disc removed to create the current flag. The Falkland Islands Red Ensign was created by The Merchant Shipping (Falkland Islands Colours) Order 1998, No. 3147 of 1998, which came into force in 1999 and which contains a picture of the ensign containing the Falkland arms on a white disc. Red Ensign with the Falklands coat of arms superimposed is used as the islands' civil ensign. Previously the plain red ensign was used by ships in the territorial waters around the Falklands.

The Governor of the Falkland Islands uses a Union Flag defaced with the coat of arms. It was this flag that was raised at Government House in Stanley by the Royal Marines at the end of the Falkland War, signifying the liberation of the islands.^[3]

Use of the flag

Since its approval, the Falklands flag has been used to represent the Falkland Islanders internationally.^[4][5] In 2011, in support of Argentina's claim to the islands, the members of Mercosur banned Falklands flagged vessels from entering their ports.^[6] Vessels flying the Falklands Civil Ensign are required to re-flag with the Red Ensign to enter Mercosur ports.^[7]

The flag was flown from several HM Government buildings in London, including 10 Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Whitehall, on 14 June 2012 to mark the 30th anniversary of the islands' liberation.^[8]

Former flags

Flag used 1876–1925

Flag used 1925–1948

Flag used 1948–1999 (banned from 2 April-14 June 1982 during the Argentine military occupation)

Red ensign used from 1948-1999, occasionally still used

See also

• List of flags of the United Kingdom
• List of Falkland Island flags

References

Falkland Islands articles
History	Falkland Islands wolf 1770 Falklands crisis Hope Place Port Egmont Puerto Soledad Falklands War
Geography	Islands Arch Barren Beaver Beauchene Bird Bleaker Burdwood Bank Carcass Dunbar Dyke East Falkland Lafonia Elephant Cays Eddystone Rock Fox George Golding Great Hummock Island Jason Keppel Kidney Lively Long New Passage Patagonian Shelf Pebble Ruggles Saunders Sea Lion Speedwell Staats Swan Tea Tyson Weddell West Falkland West Point Locations Airport Ajax Bay Bay of Harbours Bertha's Beach Brenton Loch Bull Point Camp Cape Bougainville Cape Pembroke Darwin Eagle Passage Falkland Sound Fox Bay Goose Green Grantham Sound Green Patch Hill Cove Hope Harbour Hornby Mountains Johnson's Harbour Lafonia Mount Maria Mount Usborne New Haven No Man's Land North Arm Pebble Island Settlement Pleasant Peak Port Albemarle Port Howard Port Louis Port Patterson Port San Carlos Port Stephens Salvador San Carlos Seal Bay Stanley Stanley Harbour Volunteer Point
Politics	Chief Executive Constitution Falkland Islands pound (currency) Government House Governor list Legislative Assembly Sovereignty dispute timeline Military British Forces South Atlantic Islands Falkland Islands Defence Force Mare Harbour RAF Mount Pleasant
Economy	Falkland Islands Company Falkland Islands Development Corporation Falkland Landholdings Corporation Falklands Oil and Gas
Society	Education Falkland Islanders origins Falklands Conservation Languages Falkland Islands English Telecommunications Internet domain Transport Culture Anglican parish Coat of arms Flag Motto Religion Roman Catholicism Scouting and Guiding Sport Commonwealth Games Cricket team Football team Ice hockey team Rifle Association Rugby union
Outline Index Category

Flags of the British Overseas Territories and the Crown dependencies
British Overseas Territories	Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena Ascension Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands
Crown dependencies	Guernsey Alderney Herm Sark Jersey Isle of Man

Flags of South America
Sovereign states	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies and other territories	Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

National and regional flags incorporating the Union Jack
Sovereign states	Australia Fiji New Zealand Tuvalu United Kingdom
Dependent territories	United Kingdom Anguilla Ascension Island Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Tristan da Cunha Turks and Caicos Islands New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Ross Dependency
States, provinces and other administrative divisions	Australia New South Wales Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia Canada British Columbia Manitoba Ontario United States Hawaii
Cities	Chile Coquimbo United States Baton Rouge, Louisiana Taunton, Massachusetts
Miscellaneous	Flags based on British ensigns Mosquito Kingdom (1844–1860) List of British flags Historical flags of the British Empire George Rex Flag Flags inspired by the Union Jack Basque Country St. Pierre & Miquelon Newfoundland & Labrador
Historical	Canada South Africa Newfoundland