 | |
| Use | National flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 10:19 |
| Adopted | May 1, 1979; 46 years ago (1979-05-01) |
| Design | A blue field with two diagonal stripes of orange and white radiating from the lower hoist-side corner to the upper fly-side corner and the large white star with four large rays and twenty small rays on the upper hoist-side corner above the stripes. |
| Designed by | Emlain Kabua |
Theflag of theRepublic of the Marshall Islands, anisland nation in thePacific, was adopted upon the start of self-government, May 1, 1979. The flag was designed byEmlain Kabua, who served as the firstFirst Lady of the republic.[1]
Rules and specifications regarding the flag are set forth in the Official Flag of the Marshall Islands Act 1979 (Public Law 1979–1).[2]
The Marshall Islands were part of theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by theUnited States, from which the Marshall Islands,Palau, and theFederated States of Micronesia split. In common with other island nations in the region, this flag features the symbolic representation of the islands' place within the ocean. The rising diagonal band represents theequator, the star above representing thisNorthern Hemispherearchipelago. Thewhite andorange portions of the band represent, respectively, theRatak Chain ("sunrise") and theRalik Chain ("sunset"), as well as symbolizingpeace andcourage. The star's 24 points represent the number ofelectoral districts, while the four elongated points represent the principal cultural centers ofMajuro,Jaluit,Wotje andEbeye. The flag is also the national flag with the most points on a star, at 24.
This flag placed ninth out of 72 - the best flag of an independent nation that isn'tCanada or theUnited States, instead being in afree association with the United States - in aNorth American Vexillological Association poll that was held in 2001.[3]
Flag used during Spanish colonial rule in 1529.svg)
Flag used during British colonial rule in 1788.svg)
Flag used during Spanish colonial rule from 1874 to 1885
Flag used during German colonial rule from 1878 to 1894
Flag of TheJaluit Company from 1885 to 1906.svg)
Flag of TheGerman New Guinea from 1906 to 1914
Colonial Flag of New Guinea from 1906 to 1914.svg)
Flag used during Japanese colonial rule from 1914 to 1944
Flag of Governor of theSouth Seas Mandate from 1920 to 1944
Flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; was used in the RMI from 1965 to 1979
The flag of the United Nations was also used in the RMI from 1947 to 1965.svg)
Theflag of the United States with 48 stars was also used in the RMI from 1944 to 1959 (seeTimeline of the flag of the United States for more information on the stars on this flag increasing in number)
The flag of the United States with 49 stars was also used in the RMI from 1959 to 1960.svg)
The flag of the United States with 50 stars was also used in the RMI from 1960 to 1986
Current flag, from 1979 to the present
Flag of Bikini Atoll from 1987 to the present.svg)
.svg)
The flag has a ratio of 10:19. The star is situated such that its center is equidistant from the left edge, the top edge, and the top of the orange ray.
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| Scheme | Dark Powder Blue | Fulvous | White |
|---|---|---|---|
| RGB | 0-56-147 | 221-117-0 | 255-255-255 |
| CMYK | C1-M0-Y0-K42.3 | C0-M47-Y100-K13.3 | C0-M0-Y0-K0 |
| HEX | #003893 | #DD7500 | #FFFFFF |
