The national symbol, the flag of Eritrea, was officially approved in December 1995, two years after independence from Ethiopia.
Description and proportions of the flag of Eritrea
The flag of the African state of Eritrea has a rectangular shape, adopted for the flags of most independent world powers. Its width is half its length, and the flag field is divided into three triangular parts. Border lines start at the corners of the flagpole and converge in the middle of the free edge of the Eritrean flag.
The upper field of the banner is painted bright green, the middle of the flag is red, and the bottom is blue. On the left half of the flag of Eritrea, within a red triangle, there is an olive wreath in gold embracing an olive tree. The number of leaves on the wreath is thirty and symbolizes the number of years during which the civil war in the country lasted.
The greenery on the flag is the agriculture of the African state, which provides the main income for development. The gold of the olive shoots symbolizes the wealth of the bowels of Eritrea, and the branches themselves symbolize peace and the revival of state foundations. The red field on the flag is a tribute to all those who died for the independence of their homeland, and the blue one is a symbol of the sea that washes the land of Eritrea.
History of the flag of Eritrea
The history of the flag of Eritrea is closely related to the past of the country. Until 1941, the state was colonially dependent on the Italians, and later, until 1952, it was ruled by the British administration. During these years, the flags of the country were Italian and British. Then the state of Eritrea gained independence and adopted a blue cloth with a green olive wreath in the center as a state symbol. It was a tribute to the role of the UN in resolving the situation. In 1958, the flag of Ethiopia was raised over the country, which annexed the territory of Eritrea over the next few years.
The Front for the Liberation of the Eritrean People has waged an armed struggle for sovereignty for 30 years. In 1977, its participants raised the Eritrea flag, which almost completely coincided with the modern version. The only difference was that the olive wreath on that panel was replaced by a yellow five-pointed star.
In 1993, the star was replaced by olive branches, but the proportions of the cloth were somewhat different from those of today. For two and a half years, the width and length of the flag of Eritrea were related to each other as 2: 3. The current current version of the flag of Eritrea was adopted at the end of 1995, and since then the appearance and size of the banner have not changed.
