Jump to content

Flag of Somalia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2602:30a:2c05:59d0:60eb:26e4:fa2d:d664 (talk) at 15:00, 11 February 2016 (punctuation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Federal Republic of Somalia
UseNational flag and ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion2:3
AdoptedOctober 12, 1954
DesignA single white five-pointed star centered on a light blue field.
Designed byMohammed Awale Liban

The Flag of Somalia (Template:Lang-so, Template:Lang-ar), also known as the Somali Flag, is the official flag of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Adopted on October 12, 1954, it was designed by Mohammed Awale Liban.[1][2] Upon unification of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, the flag was used for the nascent Somali Republic. It was originally conceived and serves as an ethnic flag for the Somali people.[3]

History

The flag of Somalia was created in 1954 during the transitional trusteeship period of the nation's history. It was personally designed by the Somali scholar Mohammed Awale Liban, after he had been selected by the Somali labour trade union to come up with a design in preparation for independence.[1][2] The flag was first used in the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the short-lived State of Somaliland (former British Somaliland), which united on July 1, 1960, to form the Somali Republic.

Characteristics

Somali woman wearing a Somali flag dress.
Somali women at a Khatumo State launch ceremony wearing the Somali flag.

As an ethnic flag, the five-pointed white Star of Unity in its center represents the Somali ethnic group found in Djibouti, the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and the former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland territories in present-day Somalia.[3][4]

The Somali flag's light blue backdrop was originally influenced by the flag of the United Nations, in recognition of the UN's role in Somalia's transition to independence during the trusteeship period.[5][6] However, it now officially denotes the sky as well as the Indian Ocean, which flanks the country.[4]

The flag's blazon, or heraldic description, is: Azure, a mullet Argent.

Construction

The flag of Somalia can be faithfully reproduced using the following construction plan:

Construction sheet

Historical flags

The following are the flags historically used in the territory of present-day Somalia:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b History of the flag
  2. ^ a b Maria Costantino, The Illustrated Flag Handbook, (Gramercy Books: 2001), p.185.
  3. ^ a b "Somalia Flag". World Atlas. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  4. ^ a b "The World Factbook - Somalia". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  5. ^ Znamierowski, Alfred. The World Encyclopedia of Flags. p. 222. ISBN 0-7548-0167-5.
  6. ^ Talocci, Mauro. Smith, Whitney (ed.). Guide to the Flags of the World. p. 131. ISBN 0-688-01141-1.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flag_of_Somalia&oldid=704426541"