Green and red flag with yellow emblem

ESWATINI • King Mswati III announced that Swaziland was changing its name to Eswatini on April 19. The new name was the literal translation of "land of the Swazi people" in Swazi.

ETHIOPIA • On September 25, The government announced it would hold a public consultation on the changing national flag. Though it was never officially stated, the most likely change would have been to remove the emblem and restore the plain green-yellow-red tricolour.

In 1991 the People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front defeated Mengiistu and the socialist emblem was removed.

The emblem of Ethiopia was added to the centre of the flag in 1996, originally a light blue field it was changed after eight months to dark blue.

Each colour on the flag has a specific meaning; the green is for land, yellow for peace, red for strength and the blue is for unity

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By Whitney Smith Article History

Table of Contents

Green and red flag with yellow emblem
national flag consisting of triangles of green, red, and blue and a yellow emblem off-centre toward the hoist. The flag’s width-to-length ratio is 1 to 2.

The first flag of Eritrea was officially adopted on September 15, 1952, the day British authorities relinquished control over the area and four days before the Ethiopian-Eritrean Federation became effective. Its light blue background was to honour the flag of the United Nations (UN), which had assisted the country to self-government. In the centre was a wreath of two olive branches surrounding an upright branch, coloured green; these also suggested the UN flag. On December 23, 1958, the Eritrean flag was replaced by that of Ethiopia, which annexed the nation in 1962. About the same time, a liberation struggle was begun; after 1975 it was led by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF).

The EPLF party flag, adopted in January 1977, consisted of three triangles: red, green, and blue. The red colour suggested blood shed for national liberation. The green and blue represented agricultural wealth and maritime resources, respectively. The yellow star on the red triangle stood for national mineral resources. The new national flag was first officially hoisted at the proclamation of independence on May 24, 1993. It had the triangles of the EPLF flag, but the star was replaced by a yellow version of the three olive branches in the 1952–58 flag. As standardized in 1995, the number of leaves in the wreath (30) corresponds to the years of civil war that led to independence.

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Green and red flag with yellow emblem
national flag consisting of three equal horizontal stripes of yellow, green, and red, with a central white star overlapping the three stripes. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 1 to 2.

In many Asian countries the earliest flag representing the ruler had a plain background with a distinctive national animal in the centre. In Myanmar the peacock was that central emblem, introduced in 1757 by King Alaungpaya. The peacock, symbolic of the sun and of Buddhism, was also said to stand for happiness and unity. Under the colonial rule of the British (1886–1948), when the country became known as Burma, there was a special Blue Ensign with a gold disk bearing the peacock, although for most of the years of British rule the Union Jack alone was displayed. Burmese who were resisting British rule at the end of the 19th century used the symbol of the peacock on a white flag.

In August 1943 a Japanese-sponsored puppet regime established a horizontal tricolour of yellow-green-red bearing a white disk with a gold central peacock. Burmese resistance forces collaborating with the British against Japan used a red flag with a single white star in the upper hoist corner.

Green and red flag with yellow emblem

In 1948 Britain recognized the independence of Burma. The national flag adopted then, based on the banner of the resistance forces, was red with a dark blue canton bearing one large white star and five smaller ones—the latter stars symbolizing the union of the country’s Burman, Karen, Shan, Kachin, and Chin ethnic groups. In 1974 a new governing regime replaced that flag with a modified version. The stars for the ethnic groups were replaced by 14 stars for the country’s political subdivisions, and instead of the large star there was a cogwheel representing industrial workers, framing two ears (and four leaves) of rice, a symbol of the peasantry.

In 1988, following the establishment of a new military government, the name of the country was changed from Burma to Myanmar; the 1974 flag was retained. Myanmar ratified a new constitution in 2008 (in effect January 2011), and one of its provisions was the adoption of a new national flag. The new design harkened back to the 1943 yellow-green-red tricolour, but, instead of the peacock used on the earlier standard, a white star was set in the centre of the flag. The flag was first hoisted on October 21, 2010.

What country has a green yellow and red flag?

The national flag of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos vėliava) consists of a horizontal tricolour of yellow, green, and red.

What does green yellow red flag mean?

Senegal retained the green-yellow-red flag but substituted a green star for the kanaga. Green is seen as a symbol of hope and of the country's major religions, while yellow is for natural riches and the wealth derived from labour. Red recalls the independence struggle, life, and socialism.

What flag is red and green with an emblem?

Flag of Portugal.

Why did Myanmar change its flag?

The NLD proposed changing the national flag as they do not believe that the flag adopted in 2010 has the full support of the people of Myanmar. Their proposed flag was based on the flag adopted by the country at independence and consisted of a red field with a blue canton in the upper hoist.