4 February 1998; 27 years ago (1998-02-04) (updated 10 August 2001)[1]
Design
A medium blue field with a yellow right triangle separating said field; along the hypotenuse of the triangle, there are seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars at the top and bottom of the flag.
The three points of the triangle stand for the three mainethnic groups (or "constituent peoples") of Bosnia and Herzegovina:Bosniaks,Croats, andSerbs.[2] The triangle represents the approximate shape of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[3]
The stars, representingEurope, are meant to be infinite in number and thus they continue from top to bottom. The flag features colors often associated with neutrality and peace – white, blue, and yellow. They are also colors traditionally associated withBosnian culture andhistory.[3] The blue background is evocative of theflag of Europe.[4][5]
The flag of theKingdom of Bosnia was based on coat of arms of the Bosnian dynastyKotromanić, kingTvrtko I and his successors. The flag of medieval Bosnia was white with the coat of arms of the Kotromanić dynasty in the middle which consisted of a blue shield with six goldfleur de lys displayed around a whitebend.
In the 1830s revolt byHusein Gradaščević the green flag with a yellow crescent and star was used. The revolt's aim was for Bosnia to gain autonomy from theOttoman Empire.
When theAustro-Hungarian Empireannexed Bosnia and Herzegovina the flag was changed. The province of Bosnia used a flag that was a horizontal bicolour of red and yellow, but the province of Herzegovina used the same flag but with reversed colors (yellow and red).
Thecoat of arms is one ofStjepan Vukčić Kosača, Bosniannoble andduke from 14th century. The original medievalcoat of arms had a white background and two red stripes in the top of the shield. It was Similar to the old flag of the Western Bosnian Flag.
Flag of the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian administration (the country was formally under the sovereignty of theOttoman Empire) (1878–1908)
Flag of Bosnia during Austro-Hungarian occupation (1878–1908)
Flag of Bosnia after Austro-Hungarian annexation (1908)
Flag of Herzegovina after Austro-Hungarian annexation (1878–1918)
Flag of Bosnia after Austro-Hungarian annexation (1908–1918)
The flag of the Bosnian—Herzegovinian Partisans duringWorld War II (27 November 1943)[6]
The Flag of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia duringWorld War II (1943–1946)
The Flag of the Yugoslav Partisans duringWorld War II (16 December 1942)
Wide public discussion ahead of constitutional adoption resulted in the overall opinion that the state flag should be red, like the one initially flown by liberation movements, and not in nationalpan-Slavic tricolors ofSerbs andCroats which were argued to have been an "import" from a later stage of the war.[6] This discussion was in response to the first proposed flag from 15 November 1946, which matched the federal flag except with an additional golden star placed behind the existing gold-bordered red star in the centre, with their rays positioned interchangeably. Belgrade officials listened to the public opinion, but proceeded to add the federal Yugoslav tricolor to the canton of a plain red flag to symbolize the republic's affiliation to the Federation, and as such it was officially adopted on 31 December 1946.[6] In the real-world usage, this flag had a variant with a much larger canton which was offset from the edges and bordered in white. This variant was eventually proposed sometime in 1947, but was never adopted.[6]
Bosnia and Herzegovina also hada new coat of arms during Yugoslav rule; it was a symbol of Bosnianindustrialism at the time. A red flag with central elements of this coat of arms in the canton was erroneously reported in one contemporary book to have been the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[6]
Proposed flag of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (15 November 1946)[6]
The flag that was in an error reported as the new flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina in one contemporary book[6]
Proposed flag of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1947)[6]
Flag of the SR of Bosnia and Herzegovina (31 December 1946 − 6 April 1992)[6]
A cemetery in Mostar flying the flag of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (left), the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 3 March 1992 Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence fromYugoslavia. Initially the newly independentRepublic of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued to use the flag of theSocialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina until a new flag was adopted on 20 May 1992. The flag picked was the arms of the Kings of BosniaKotromanić dynasty, who ruled from 1377 until 1463 over the area that is present dayBosnia and Herzegovina andDalmatia, consisted of a blue shield with sixgolden lilies displayed around a whitebend; the golden lily is theLilium bosniacum, which is a native lily to the area. The flag chosen in 1992 has awhite background with the Bosnian lily in the center. It was and it still is the mainBosniak national flag. Though it is no longer an official flag of the state, the flag continues to be used unofficially by Bosniak civilians as theirethnic flag,[5] used at football games, as part of political rallies, and other such events.[7]
TheBosnian Serbs, before and after the signing of theDayton Agreement, viewed the flag with the six fleurs-de-lys as only representing the Bosniaks (i.e. Bosnian Muslims) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The flag of the state was eventually changed into the current, post-1998 flag. The current flag was introduced by theUN High RepresentativeCarlos Westendorp after the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina could not decide on a solution that was acceptable to all parties.[8] Aside from the colors, the current flag contains no historical or other references to the Bosnian state.[5] The flag is rarely ever seen inRepublika Srpska,[5] whose residents prefer to fly either that entity's regional flag orthe Serbian national flag instead.[5] Some Bosniaks dislike or have no particular affinity for the flag, preferring the former Bosnian national flag used from 1992 to 1998,[5] or the former socialist-eraYugoslav flag instead.[5]
The first flag that was proposed in the First Set of Proposals was the "Czech Pattern", similar to theflag of the Czech Republic. It was intended to represent allthree constitutive nations living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The next proposal was the "Laurel branch". It is based on the light blue color of theUnited Nations Flag. It would have had a goldenolive branch in the middle. The olive branch is taken from theUnited Nations emblem. The flag would have only one branch. The branch was rotated around 30 degrees counterclockwise. The third proposal was the "Map" proposal. It would also use the United Nations light blue color; however, there would be the addition of a white outline map of Bosnia and Herzegovina. No official text was ever published specifying the color of the outline, but it probably would have been white.
First alternative flag of first proposal
Second alternative flag of first proposal
Third alternative flag of first proposal
The Second Set of Proposals had flags that were truly representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole. The first flag design was a diagonally striped tricolor pattern of red to white to blue (different colors but in the same pattern as theFlag of the Republic of the Congo). In the centre there would be a blue map of Bosnia and Herzegovina outlined in yellow in the middle inside a circle of 10 five-pointed yellow stars. The flag would have been a 1:2 ratio. The second flag proposed was very similar except it had 12 five-pointed stars to represent theEuropean Union. TheFlag of Europe has the 12 five-pointed stars. The third design was a bit more different from the first two designs. The diagonal tricolur shape was kept, but the diagonal white stripe was made wider so that the angle was not perfectly 45 degrees. In the center there was a yellow map of Bosnia and Herzegovina outlined in green and under it there were two green olive branches. The olive branch pattern was the same one that the United Nations uses in its flag. The final fourth design was kept the same emblem from the third design, but did not have the diagonal stripes. Instead it had a horizontal tricolor pattern of blue, white, and red (from top to bottom), similar to that of the formerYugoslavia.
First alternative flag of second proposal
Second alternative flag of second proposal
Third alternative flag of second proposal
Fourth alternative flag of second proposal
The firstWestendorp alternative flag was a highly similar one to today's flag, a diagonally divided top-hoist to bottom-fly yellow over light blue flag with line of 9 white five-pointed stars in the light blue field along the diagonal. The only major difference was that the color of the background was UN blue. The second Carlos Westendorp alternative flag is a light blue flag (using the United Nations' flag's colors) with 5 bars interchangeably coming out of hoist and not reaching the other end. The colors are interchangeably yellow and white. In the third alternative flag, the field was light blue and had five narrow yellow bars.
First Carlos Westendorp alternative flag proposal
Second Carlos Westendorp alternative flag proposal
Third Carlos Westendorp alternative flag proposal
Westendorp's decision ended up being the first alternative flag. However, it was changed slightly to a darker blue, evocative of theEuropean Union's flag.[5]
^Zakon o zastavi Bosne i Hercegovine (English:Law on the State flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina), published on 3 August 2001 and valid from 10 August 2001; according to the Article 13 of the Law which proclaimedvacatio legis of seven days. Službeni glasnik BiH dated: 10 August 2001) (English:Official Gazette of Bosn. & Herz.) No. 19/01, published on 3 August 2001.
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![The flag of the Bosnian—Herzegovinian Partisans during World War II (27 November 1943)[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBosnian-Herzegovinian_Partisans_flag.svg)
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![Proposed flag of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (15 November 1946)[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFirst_Proposed_Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.svg)
![The flag that was in an error reported as the new flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina in one contemporary book[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aErroneous_flag_report_of_SR_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.png)
![Proposed flag of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1947)[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a1947_Proposed_Flag_of_the_People%2527s_Republic_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.svg)
![Flag of the SR of Bosnia and Herzegovina (31 December 1946 − 6 April 1992)[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFlag_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina_(1946%25E2%2580%25931992).svg)
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