.svg) | |
| Use | National flag  |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | 31 January 1946 (1946-01-31)[1] |
| Design | A horizontaltriband ofblue,white, andred with a gold-borderedred star in the center |
| Designed by | Đorđe Andrejević-Kun |
.svg) | |
| Use | Civil andstate ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 21 March 1950 (1950-03-21)[2] |
| Design | The national flag shortened to a proportion of 2:3. |
.svg) | |
| Use | Naval ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 6 June 1949 (1949-06-06)[3] |
.jpg)
Theflag of Yugoslavia was the official flag of theYugoslav state from 1918 to 1992. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from thePan-Slavic movement, which ultimately led to the unification of theSouth Slavs and the creation of a united south-Slavic state in 1918.
The flag had three equal horizontal bands ofblue, white, and red and was first used by theKingdom of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1941. Ared star was added in its center by the victoriousYugoslav Partisans inWorld War II and this design was used until thebreakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, whereupon the changes where reverted. This version continued to be used by the direct successor state to Yugoslavia,the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, until its own dissolution in 2006. Today, the flag still holds meaning to thosenostalgic for Yugoslavia or who admire its anti-fascist symbolism.
The flag of Yugoslavia is a horizontaltricolour of blue (top), white (middle) and red (bottom). The design and colours are based on thePan-Slavic flag adopted at thePan-Slavic Congress of 1848, inPrague. Following the end of theFirst World War in 1918, theSouthern Slavs united into a single unitary state of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known asYugoslavia. The monarchy selected the pan-Slavic design to symbolise the new founded unity of all Southern Slavs. The design consisted of a simple horizontaltricolour with three equal bands of blue (top), white (middle) and red (bottom). Following the end of the Second World War and the abolition of the monarchy in 1945, the new Communist government retained the design of the flag but added ared star with yellow border in the centre. This flag remained in use until the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia in 1992, after which the new union ofSerbia and Montenegro removed the red star and retaineda plain tricolour flag until their dissolution in 2006.
Colors scheme | Blue | White | Red | Yellow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMYK | 100-61-0-42 | 0-0-0-0 | 0-100-100-12 | 0-17-91-1 |
| HEX | #003893 | #FFFFFF | #DE0000 | #FCD115 |
| RGB | 0-56-147 | 255-255-255 | 222-0-0 | 252-209-21 |
FollowingWorld War II, Yugoslavia became afederalsocialist republic, consisting of six sub-level constituent republics. Each constituent republic had its own flag and emblem. Most of the flags were based on the old historical flags of the respective Yugoslav states, except the flag of theSR Bosnia and Herzegovina andSR Macedonia which only gained statehood after World War II.SR Croatia,SR Montenegro,SR Serbia, andSR Slovenia all used thepan-Slavic colors, red, white and blue, in the particular way in which there were already traditional for in the respective countries. They were all embellished by acommunist symbol, thered star. This standardization meant thatSR Montenegro andSR Serbia had identical flags, as they continued the use of the tricolours of theKingdom of Montenegro and theKingdom of Serbia respectively. As forBosnia and Herzegovina, because of itsmultiethnic character, its flag consisted of ared flag but with a small SFR Yugoslav flag in thecanton. The red and yellow of the flag ofSR Macedonia reflected the colours of the traditional coat of arms with a lion of theregion.
%2c_Flag_of_Serbia_(1947%25E2%2580%25931992).svg) Flag ofSerbia | .svg) Flag ofCroatia | .svg) Flag ofBosnia and Herzegovina |
Flag ofMontenegro | .svg) Flag ofSlovenia | %3b_Flag_of_North_Macedonia_(1991-1992).svg) Flag ofMacedonia |
.svg) | |
| National flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
| Use | National flag andcivil ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1918 |
| Relinquished | 1943 |
| Design | A horizontaltriband of blue, white and red |
| State flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
.svg) | |
| Use | State flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1918 |
| Relinquished | 1943 |
| Design | A horizontaltriband of blue, white and red with thecoat of arms in the center |
| Naval Ensign of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |
 Traditional flag with the coat of arms | |
| Use | Naval ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1922 |
| Relinquished | 1943 |
| Design | A horizontaltriband of blue, white and red with a simplifiedcoat of arms at the hoist side |
The national flag of the formerKingdom of Yugoslavia was blue-white-red in the horizontal sense against a vertical staff.[4] The common national civil flag was the same as the historicPan-Slavic flag approved at thePan-Slavic Congress in Prague, 1848. The naval ensign (war flag) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is blue-white-red with the simplified lesser coat of arms:On one third of the ensign length there shall be the state coat of arms with the crown. The height of the arms and crown (without the globe and cross) shall be half of the ensign height.[5][6]
The flags of the Kingdom were in official use from 1922 until the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied byAxis powers in 1941. After that, the flag was used by the officially recognized government in exile, diplomatic representatives, and theAllies until 1945. During the Second World War,Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland (also known asChetniks) continued to use the flag.
TheKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established on December 1, 1918 and was renamed theKingdom of Yugoslavia on October 3, 1929. The state's first flag was officially adopted in 1922.[7] All Yugoslav flags (including the first ones) were variations on thePan-Slavic flag adopted at thePan-Slavic Congress in Prague in 1848. The Pan-Slavic flag was a plain blue-white-red tricolor in the horizontal sense against a vertical staff, and thenational flag andcivil andstateensign during the 1918–1943 period (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was exactly the same.[4] The naval ensign during the period was the blue-white-red tricolor with the simplified lesser coat of arms of Yugoslavia.[5][8]
TheCorfu Declaration mentions that individual Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian national flags and coats of arms are equal and can be displayed and used freely on all occasions.
In response to demands by Croat politicians for autonomy of Croatia, an autonomous region of Croatia was created within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, theBanovina of Croatia. It used the Croatian red-white-blue tricolour for its civil flag, and its state flag included the tricolour charged with the Croatianšahovnica.
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In 1941 duringWorld War II Yugoslavia wasinvaded and occupied by theAxis powers, and the Yugoslav government fled into exile inLondon. Soon afterward, the Yugoslav resistance, thePartisans, was formed. The Partisans did not support the Yugoslav government-in-exile and initially used a number of different flags until finally one was universally adopted. The new flag was the Yugoslav blue-white-red tricolor with ared star occupying the center of the white field, and with the dimensions altered to 1:2 instead of 2:3. The Partisans were recognized by theAllies in late November 1943 (Tehran Conference) and the name of the Yugoslav state was altered toDemocratic Federal Yugoslavia (DFY). The old flag continued to be used by the government-in-exile (up until its merge with the Partisan government, theNKOJ in 1944), by its diplomatic representatives, and by the western Allies until 1945 - while in Yugoslavia, the version with the red star was primarily in use.
After the war, in 1945, the red star flag became universally official. It was given its final shape by enlarging the star and adding a narrow yellow border. The flag was usually accompanied on official buildings by theflag of the federal republic and the flag of theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia. Because of this, many buildings in former Yugoslavia still carry a three-poled flag holder. A smaller version of the flag served as the civil ensign while an elongated banner version was seen flown in front of the Yugoslav parliament.
Chapter 1, Article 4 of the1946 Yugoslav Constitution laid out the specifications for the SFRY flag. The ratio was set at 1:2 and it consisted of a flag that has blue, white and red horizontal stripes that are of equal width. In the middle of the flag is a red star that has a border of golden-yellow. The red star is placed in the center of the flag where the intersections of the corners meet.[9] In the1963 and1974 constitutions, the specifications and design of the flag did not change. Other sources state that the red star is placed in a circle that has a diameter of2⁄3 of the flag's hoist (width). The size of the golden-yellow border was not defined in the 1946 Constitution.[10]
Flags of the former federal Yugoslavia and its socialist republics continue to be flown atanti-fascist protests,International Workers' Day celebrations,Yugo-nostalgic gatherings andpride parades throughoutYugosphere and amongits diaspora. Yugoslav flags and symbolism are not an unusual sighting in neighbouring Italy either.[11]
