Eritrea

Eritrea
Adopted	December 5, 1995
Proportions	1:2

The flag of Eritrea are two fields of green and blue separated by a red triangle containing an emblem of a wreath and an upright olive-branch. It was adopted on December 5, 1995, and uses the basic layout of the flag of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, with the wreath with upright olive branch symbol derived from the 1952 flag.

Symbolism

The green color in the flag stands for the agriculture and livestock of the country, while the blue represents the bounty of the sea. The red stands for the blood shed in the struggle for Eritrean independence, with the 30 leaves in the wreath representing the thirty years spent in the struggle.

History

Ever since 1947, Eritrea was always a colony, first being under the rule of Italy, then under British administration, and for a couple of years (1961-1991), under Ethiopian occupation.

However, despite all of these, Eritrea didn't have a flag, until 1952, when they made and adopted one. The flag consisted of a shade of United Nations Blue, with a green emblem of a wreath and an olive branch in the center. The flag lasted for ten years, until 1961, when Ethiopia came back to annex the territory, which caused a war of independence lasting for thirty years (1961-1991). And as the war raged on, the region was left flagless. However during the war, the Ethiopian People's Liberation Front proposed a design for when the region would win the war.

Proposed design, made official in 1993

Their proposed design recycles two things: the wreath/olive branch from the old 1952 flag (it was colored yellow) and their own party flag (with the star omitted). When the Eritreans won, the flag was hoisted up on May 24, 1993. In 1995, proportions were changed from 2:3 to 1:2, and at an unknown date, the laurel wreath was modified, and was later applied to the Wikimedia Commons file in 2021.