![[Civil flag of Haiti]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fflagspot.net%2fflags%2f..%2fimages%2fh%2fht.gif)
(3:5)
image byZoltan Horvath, 12 June 2024
Official Name:Republic of Haiti (Republique d'Haïti)
Capital:Port-au-Prince
Flag adopted:17February 1986 (Officially 29 March 1987)
Coat of Arms adopted:25 February 1986
See also:
Fromwww.haiti.org:
Constitution of 1987 (Article 3):
The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with thefollowing description:
Dov Gutterman, 7 January 1999
I have found the original French version (national languages in Haiti are French and Creole) of the Constitution at:www.haiti-montreal.org(Website of the General Consulate of Haiti in Montreal):
ARTICLE 2:
Les couleurs nationales sont: le bleu et le rouge. (Nationalcolours are: blue and red)
ARTICLE 3: as above, but: Les Armes de la République sont : LePalmiste etc...
What is puzzling is that the original French text and the Englishtranslation do not refer to the same tree!
According to DOD Bourke's French-English horticultural dictionary(CAB International, 1989), palmette (Fr) = palmetto (En) = Sabalpalmetto, palmiste (Fr) = cabbage palm (En) =Roystonea oleracea.Palm cabbage is the growing point eaten as a vegetable. DK PocketBook calls the tree the 'royal palm', thus referring to localpalmist species (Roystonea regia in Cuba, R. oleracea inBarbados, andR. borinquena in Puerto-Rico). I suggest to change'palmetto' to 'cabbage palm' to avoid confusion. Smith(1976) calls it 'emperor palm', a palm I have not found in any ofthe botanical books I have searched in.
The motto on the emblem (L'Union fait la Force) is NOT thenational motto, which is Liberte - Egalite - Fraternite, fideArticle 4 of the Constitution , as erroneously reported in DKPocket Book and Smith (1976 & 1980)
According to Album des Pavillons, the flag with the emblemis the national flag and ensign as well as the war ensign, andthe 'plain' flag is the civil ensign. This is seconded inPedersen (1970) showing the Duvalier's era flags (with blackinstead of blue) .DK Pocket Book shows the flag without theemblem, with the caption 'For official and state purposes, theflag is charged with the national arms on a central white disc .Smith (1976 & 1980) also shows the Duvalier version (blackinstead of blue) without emblem as state and war flag and ensign.
Ivan Sache, 12 December 1999
I have here a letter dated 1 December 1987 sent toRomanKlimes by Ministère de l'Information et de la Coordinationof Haiti . It says more or less the same as your sources, withthe following details
- "Palmiste royal"
- flag 2,90 x 1,74 m
- a drawing b & w showing the flag with coa on a whiterectangle 0,55 x 0,45 m
I also have a photo of President Preval in Jane's Defence Weeklydated 14 01 98, the white rectangle is much bigger in the flagthan in your web photo.
When visiting me here on 25 September 1997, a Haitian hydrographer brought me a flag and told me that :
- the size of rectangle is variable
- blue should be the same as French blue but we often see avariable blue
- civil flags are without rectangle and coat of arms
- there is no war navy, air force (last aircrafts have beensold), so no jack, no aircraft markings.
Armand du Payrat, 13 December 1999
Palmiste royal agrees with royal or emperor palm mentioned inmy first message, so it makes sense to consider the tree as acabbage palm, locally called royal palm, in LatinRoystonea sp.(sp. for species because the species status of this particularpalm is not clear).
Ivan Sache, 13 December 1999
I suddenly noticed that Sesam Encyclopedie (1977) has twocoloured plates of flags. Concerning Haiti (State flag), thecentral rectangle noticeably larger, with the same ratio as theflag. If there ever was an official description saying thisshould be a square, than it's never followed; all flags I canrecall have always had clearly rectangular shapes in the center.it's not exactly the same ratio as the above flag. The rectangletakes almost half the height of the flag, and just over half thelength. The difference is just enough of to stop the rectanglefrom looking like a flag (or hole) inside the flag, if one paysattention to it.
I noticed we have the English description, and though we don'thave the relevant part of the French description, we do have alink showing it. Both describe the white field as a square, but Iwould like to hear from anyone who ever saw an actual squarewhite field on an Haiti flag. I'm beginning to think that,regardless of what the law says, even the Haiti government willmost likely use an oblong field, simply because it fits the coatof arms better.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 6 October 2000
At "Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustre" (1924) - Haiti:Version with rectangle (not square), with a very wide image. I'dsay some three quarters of the rectangle's width is taken up byflag cloth, or higher up by palm leaves, this being wider thanthe rectangle's height.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 October 2000
Pavillons Nationaux et Marques Distinctives [pay00] clearly states that:
- the flag with the arms is theNational and WarFlag and Ensign.
- the flag without the arms is the civil flag and ensign.
Note that Dorling-Kindersley Pocket Book shows the flag withoutthe arms only and says "for official and state purposes theflag is charged with the national arms on a central whitedisc" (sic).
The flag is sometimes 3:4 in proportion and several variations inshade and size of the rectangle including the arms have beenreported.
Ivan Sache, 5 January 2001
According to Album 2000 [pay00]- Civil Flag and Ensign (C--/C-- 3:5) - Civil variant of the flagis without the coat of arms, so just a blue over red bicolour.This is the flag that once "inspired" Liechtenstein toadd the crown on
its flag. Recently we discussed an objection from a visitor,claiming that the flag with coat of arms is "true"national flag of Haiti. Either this has changed since 1930's(when the Liechtenstein "incident" happened) or indeedthe visitor's perception of the
national flag is somewhat distorted.
Željko Heimer, 30 October 2001
National Geographic [gmc17]show the coat of arms, state and civil flags (fig. 486, 490, 491)that are virtually the same as those reportedly used todayaccording to Album 2000 [pay00] ,with some differences in the representation of the coat of arms,that could be ascribed to artistic rendition, and are of nosignificance.
Flaggenbuch [neu92] agrees again,but giving the size of the coat of arms much bigger and moreelongated (and again with different artistic rendition).
Smith [smi75c] and [smi82] show the1964 version of the flags, verticallydivided black and red.
Željko Heimer, 31 October 2001
The official dimensions quoted as being supplied by theMinistry of Information on 1 September 1987, were, in fact, takenfrom Article 3 of a Law of 1949 (published in 'Le Moniteur' of 18September 1949) which was, in turn, based on the report of acommission (appointed 3 May 1948) whose report was dated 10 June1948.
The flag with arms replaced the bi-colour as National Flag underArticle 3 of the Constitution dated 10 March 1987, where in alllegislation before that date it was referred to as "TheState/Official Flag and Naval Ensign (the plain bi-colour beingreferred to as the National Flag).
Christopher Southworth, 10 November 2003
Haiti celebrated its 200th anniversary of independence on 1Jan 2004, and there were several news reports in German TV aboutthe celebrations and the riots there. During the celebrations allthe people listening to president Aristide's speech waved Haitianflags with the coat of arms, in a rectangular field much biggerthan we have above. The flag seems to be widely used by the"common" people (as far as people listening to thepresident's speech can be called "common"), so this isobviously not only the state/war flag, but also at least onevariant of the Haitian civil flag.
On the other hand, some protesters had two plain flags withoutcoat of arms. So both versions are used as civil flag. It wouldbe interesting to know, if the different usage is due topolitical reasons (with coat of arms = pro-government; withoutcoat of arms = anti-government), or simply due to the fact, thatpoor protesters can't afford buying the flag with the coat ofarms, but can just sew a plain flag from two pieces of cloth.
M. Schmöger, 3 January 2003
Could it be, perhaps, that most Haitians do not know thedistinction?
Guillermo Aveledo Coll, 4 January 2003
Guillermo is probably right about the people of Haiti, and I,myself, would probably disagree with many of my fellowvexillologists about what constitutes a "NationalFlag". However, none of us would disagree that wherethe law (or the Constitution) states such and such a flag is the'National Flag' of a country that is the flag we show here.
According to the Constitution/laws of Haiti, until a change in1987 the plain bi-colour was the 'National Flag' and the flagwith arms the State Flag and Naval Ensign.
Christopher Southworth, 4 January 2003
According towww.haiti-reference.com,the 1987 constitution (which contain the text relating to theflag) was officially ratified on 29 march, making this theadoption date for the current flag. Note that the re-adoption bythe government is given as 17 February 1986 .
Marc Pasquin, 8 August 2004
![[Civil flag of Haiti]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fflagspot.net%2fflags%2f..%2fimages%2fh%2fht%7e.gif)
(3:5)image byZoltan Horvath, 12 June 2024
Flags of participating nations are vertically displayed in thearena where the Judo World Championships take place in Munchen(Germany). The Haitian flag appears clearly to have non-rotatedarms (i.e. their basis remains parallel to the original flagbasis, now vertical.) I have not found reference to this case.Since there is a ribbon with a motto below the arms, I wouldexpect a rotation of the arms to keep them horizontal andlegible.
Ivan Sache, 30 July 2001
In all sport events I have seen on TV, Haiti is represented bythe flag with coat of arms. All sources (except DK Pocket Book,which mentions a disk!) agree that the flag with coat of arms isnot only the state flag and ensign, but also the national one,whereas the flag without coat of arms is the civil flag andensign.
Ivan Sache, 13 October 2001
According to Album 2000 [pay00]- National Flag (-SW/-SW 3:5) - Blue over red bicolour withrectangular white panel in the middle with the national coat ofarms. The ratio of the panel itself is something like 4:5. Itappears to be less the 1/3 of the hoist high, but it seems to methat this size is (and never was) firmly decided on.
I have seen on the BBC lately, two forms of state flags usedin Haiti. One was interesting in the fact that governmentbuilding shown in the background flew a flag like the one above(with the arms and white area) in a small form, while in front ofthe building, like in a park in front, it showed larger whitearea and arms (like on the World Flag Database). Rarely does onesee only the red over blue flag with white area and arms in newsvideo.
Steve Stringfellow, 18 February 2004
The Constitution defines the national flag as follows:
Article 3
The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description:
a) Two (2) stripes of fabric of equal dimensions: one blue at the top, the other red at the bottom, placed horizontally;
b) In the center, on a square of white fabric, are arranged the Arms of the Republic;
c) The Arms of the Republic are: The Palm Tree surmounted by the Liberty Cap and, shading with its Palms, a Trophy of Arms with the Legend: �Union makes Strength�.
Based on text of the Constitution, there is only one flag, the national flag with coat of arms placed on a white panel. So, there is no separate civil flag and ensign. At least since the entry into force of the current constitution (1987).
The question is the size of the white panel. Based on the pictures on the Internet, this can be of many different versions. There are small, almost square-shaped ones, and there are larger, but rectangular ones. I have not found any official specification.
Wikipedia says: �A rectangle with an 11:9 ratio has been adopted by the Haitian Ministry of Information and Coordination since 1987 or earlier.� Source is this page on FOTW!
A good example of different sizes of white panel is shown on this picture:
https://www.primature.gouv.ht/communique-de-presse (a flag with bigger panel on left, and a flag with smaller panel on right)
Zoltan Horvath, 12 June 2024
image byŽeljko Heimer, 30 October 2001
Note to the figure explains that beside this flag a variationwith lighter blue, larger panel and in ratio 3:4 is also used.
Željko Heimer, 30 October 2001
image byŽeljko Heimer, 10 November 2003
Constitution of Haiti:https://www.oas.org/juridico/PDFs/mesicic4_hti_const.pdf
D�cret de 1986 r�tablissant le drapeau Bleu et Rouge:https://www.haitianaute.com/2021/10/decret-de-1986-retablissant-le-drapeau.html
There is an article titled: �Les sp�cificit�s du drapeau d�Ha�ti� about proposals of a special committee formed in 1948 about colors of national flag:https://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article29311
There are some pages about history and evolution of flag:
https://www.haiticulture.ch/Drapeau_national.html
https://www.historic-haiti.com/les-non-dits-sur-le-drapeau-haitien/
A Facebook page of the Mus�e du Panth�on National Ha�tian also has a nice collection of Haitian flags:https://www.facebook.com/media
Zoltan Horvath, 12 June 2024
The protocol manual for theLondon 2012 Olympics(Flags and Anthems ManualLondon 2012 [loc12]) provides recommendationsfor national flag designs. EachNOCwas sent an image of the flag, including thePMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produceda 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs maynot be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly whattheNOCbelieved the flag to be.
For Haiti: PMS 293 blue, 032 red, 355 green, 125 brown, 102 yellow, 430 grey andblack. The vertical flag is simply the horizontal version turned 90 degreesclockwise.
Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012
Other sources for colors:
There is no official source that gives exact colors of the national flag; these are all approximate colors from documented sources.
The Flag Manual - Beijing 2008 gives Pantone colors: PMS 102 (yellow), PMS 032 (red), PMS 430 (grey), PMS 355 (green), PMS 125 (brown), PMS 293 (blue), and PMS Black.
The Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00] (Corr. No. 5.) gives approximate color in Pantone and CMYK systems:
Blue: Pantone Reflex Blue c, CMYK 100-70-0-5
Red: Pantone 485c, CMYK 0-100-90-0
The Album des Pavillons 2023 already specifies the color of the flags in three color systems.
Blue: Pantone Dark blue c, CMYK 100-87-11-1, RGB 0-36-156
Red: Pantone 186c, CMYK 14-100-79-4, RGB 200-16-46
Yellow: Pantone 7409c, CMYK 6-31-93-0, RGB 241-181-23
Green: Pantone 429c, CMYK 89-31-100-24, RGB 1-106-22
Vexilla Mundi gives colors in Pantone system: PMS Reflex Blue C, and PMS 186C (red).
Wikipedia gives color values as follows:
Blue: RGB 0-32-159, Hex #00209f, CMYK 100-80-0-38
Red: RGB 210-16-52, Hex #d21034, CMYK 0-92-75-18
White (arms): RGB 255-255-255, Hex #fff fff, CMYK 0-0-0-0
Yellow (arms): RGB 241-181-23, Hex #f1b517, CMYK 0-25-90-5
Green (arms): RGB 1-106-22, Hex #016a16, CMYK 99-0-79-58
Flag Color Codes gives the following color values:
Blue: Hex. # 00209F, RGB 0-32-159, CMYK 100-76-0-9, Pantone 293, RAL 5002
Red: Hex. # D21034, RGB 210-16-52, CMYK 0-90-76-0, Pantone 032, RAL 3028
White: Hex. # FFF FFF, RGB 255-255-255, CMYK 0-0-0-0, Pantone N/A, RAL N/A
Green: Hex. # 016A16, RGB 1-106-22, CMYK 93-0-100-0, Pantone 355, RAL 6035
Yellow: Hex. # F1B517, RGB 241-181-23, CMYK 0-0-100-0, Pantone 102, RAL 1023
Zoltan Horvath, 12 June 2024
The Haitian flag anthem is shown atwindowsonhaiti.com,words by Christian Werleigh (My translation):
"Hail, beautiful Vertières flag
Holy emblem of the Union
Inspire us, Dessalines and Pétion's
Haughty colours
On this great day of our history
The 18th of May 1803
Thou appeared to guide our rights
Towards the sun of victory
And the ruler trembled all over when he saw,
Announcing the new dawn,
His beautiful tricolour standard,
Looming up, diminished of the white
In front of Vertières flag
Which call us to union
Let us remember Dessalines and P�tion's
Haughty souls."
The French troops were defeated during the battle of Vertières(18 November 1803). Their capitulation allowed the proclamationof Haitian independence on 1 January 1804 Dessalines andPe'tion's were among the leaders of the anti-French insurrectionmovement. The 18 May 1803 was the closing day of the Arcahaiecongress (15-18 May 1803), during which Dessalines had beenappointed general-in-chief of the insurrection army and hadadopted the motto "L'indépendance ou la mort"(Independence or death) He also "diminished" the FrenchTricolor of its white stripe to design the first blue-and-redHaitian flag. The flag anthem is very popular in Haiti. It issung during flag hoisting ceremonies in school, barracks etc.
Ivan Sache, 2 December 2000
A friend referred me to a special exhibit atwww.egallery.com- Click : The Electric Art Gallery: Haitian Voodoo Flags. Verydifferent designs from what we inculcate, but the purpose is verydifferent, too.
John Ayer, 9 October 1999
In the Friday, March 5, 2010, issue of The Press Democrat(Santa Rosa, California), there was anarticleabout a raffle of aHaitianVoodoo Flag.
Pete Loeser, 6 March 2010
Studying the Smith's PhD thesis (see [smi69]), on page 228 there is abrief description of a phenomenon i.e. a flag that was, as far as Icould remember, not mentioned on FOTW so far.
Let me quote Smith:
"President Duvalier of Haiti expresses the idea [of his exceptionalcharacteristics qualifying him for leadership, noted Željko Heimer] succinctly, if ratherbadly, in a neon sign in Port-au-Prince which bears his portrait and theinscription "Je suis le drapeau de la nation, un et indivisible." ("I am theFlag of the Nation, One and Indivisible." - I guess :))
This is followed with a footnote that is of further interest:
"Dr. Duvalier's portrait also frequently replaces the national coat of arms in thecenter of the Haitian flag."
I suppose that the Papa Doc's portrait in neon must have been aniconic image in 1960s when Smith was writing the thesis, relativelywell known image from Haiti of the period - but it seems I cannot find itin the internet. Anyone have better luck? I suppose that such aportrait might have had relative popularity among his followers justas the portrait of Che Guevara had and still has.
A hasty interpretation of the footnote may suggest that the samedrawing as the neon portrait was used in the flag - but when read morecarefully, it does not imply it was the same graphic representation,simply "a portrait" of Duvalier. Does anyone have any info of any PapaDoc's portrait flag of Haiti? It would be black-red vertical bicolourwith the portrait in the centre of it (on a white panel, I wouldimagine, but I may be wrong). One may guess that various portraitartwork may have been used. Certainly, these would be unofficialflags, probably used as hand weavers and other occasionalornamentation.
Željko Heimer, 5 April 2010
