Flag of Madagascar

Madagascar

Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	14 October 1958
Design	Two horizontal bands of red and green with a white vertical band on the hoist side
Use	Presidential standard
Proportion	2:3

The flag of Madagascar was adopted on 14 October 1958, two years before the independence of that nation, as Madagascar prepared for a referendum on its status in the French Community.

The colors of the flag represent Madagascar's history, yearning for independence, and traditional classes. Red and white were the colors of the Merina kingdom, which succumbed to France in 1896. They were used in the flag of the last Merina monarch, Queen Ranavalona III. They may indicate the ethnic origins of the Malagasy people in Southeast Asia, and are shared by the flag of Indonesia. Green was the color of the Hova, the largest class of peasant commoners, who played a significant role in anti-French agitation and the independence movement.

Current flags

Ethnic

• 
  2:3 Flag of the Merina people

Military

• 
  2:3 Flag of the Chief of Army Staff in the rank of Brigade General
• 
  2:3 Flag of the Chief of Army Staff in the rank of Divisional General
• 
  1:2 Pennant of the Chief of the Naval Air Force Staff in the rank of Commodore or below
• 
  1:2 Pennant of the Chief of the Naval Air Force Staff in the rank of Rear Admiral
• 
  1:2 Pennant of the Chief of the Naval Air Force Staff in the rank of Vice Admiral
• 
  1:2 Pennant of the Commander of a Naval Group
• 
  1:2 Pennant of the Commander of a Naval Base
• 
  1:20 Masthead pennant

Historical flags

• 
  2:3 Flag of the Merina Kingdom, c. 1787–1885
• 
  2:3 Flag of the Malagasy Protectorate, 1885–1896
• 
  2:3 The French tricolour of the colonial period, 1896–1958

Presidential Standards

Malagasy Republic

• 
  2:3 Philibert Tsiranana, 1959
• 
  2:3 Philibert Tsiranana, 1959–1972, obverse side
• 
  2:3 Philibert Tsiranana, 1959–1972, reverse side
• 
  2:3 Gabriel Ramanantsoa, 1972–1975, obverse side
• 
  2:3 Gabriel Ramanantsoa, 1972–1975, reverse side

Democratic Republic of Madagascar

• 
  2:3 Didier Ratsiraka, 1976–1993, obverse side
• 
  2:3 Didier Ratsiraka, 1976–1993, reverse side

Third Republic of Madagascar

• 
  2:3 Albert Zafy, 1993–1996, obverse side
• 
  2:3 Albert Zafy, 1993–1996, reverse side
• 
  2:3 Didier Ratsiraka, 1998–2002, obverse side
• 
  2:3 Didier Ratsiraka, 1998–2002, reverse side

See also

• Seal of Madagascar

External links

• Madagascar at Flags of the World
• Madagascar flag at Flagscorner