A horizontal triband of green (top and bottom) and red (double width) with large white border with the large yellow five-pointed star centered on the red band.
The flag was designed as a result of a national competition.[2] It was raised for the first time on theIndependence Day of the Republic of Suriname.[3] There is a legal requirement for vessels to raise the flag of Suriname when visiting another country to reduce miscommunication between other countries.[4]
The flag of Suriname is composed of five horizontal bands of green (top, double width), white, red (quadruple width), white, and green (double width) with a large, yellow, five-pointed star in the center.
The color red represents progress, white represents freedom and justice and the green represents the fertility of the land. The yellow star represents unity and a golden future.[5]
The flag was designed as a result of a national competition, with the winning design being accepted by the Surinamese parliament in 1975.[6] Jack Pinas, art teacher and graphic designer, won the design competition. However, some changes on Pinas' design were made.[7]
The green horizontal band on both the top and bottom of the flag represents the richness of the country's agricultural lands; the white horizontal band represents freedom and independence and red symbolizes progress and hope. The star on center of the flag reflects the sacrifices endured for the Surinamese independence as well as the unity of the country and a bright future.[6] The Surinamese political parties are indicated by the different colors that are used in the flag.[3]
After the establishment of theKingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, theDutch tricolor was used in the Dutch colony of Suriname. There was talk of a design for a colony flag with the Dutch tricolor with thecoat of arms of Suriname in the white area, but in practice this was not used.[8]
The governor's flag before 1959 was the flag of the Netherlands with white circles in the top left corner.[9][10] The same governor's flag was also used by the governors of theNetherlands Antilles andNetherlands New Guinea respectively.[11]
The pre-independence flag was designed byNoni Lichtveld and was adopted in 1959. It consisted of five coloured stars connected by a black ellipse with a plain white background. The coloured stars represented the major ethnic groups that comprise the Surinamese population, being black (Africans), brown (Asian Indians), yellow (Javanese and Chinese), red (Amerindians), and white (Europeans). The ellipse represented the harmonious relationship among the groups.[12]
This flag was also used as the governor's flag. However, the flag was criticized by the wider public for putting too much emphasis on the ethnic differences and therefore symbolizing less of the national unity of the Surinamese people.[2] It was changed to the current flag in late 1975 after a nationwide contest.
^abSmith, Whitney (25 September 2019)."Flag of Suriname".Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved8 October 2020.
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