Flag of Mali

Last updated

Republic of Mali
Flag of Mali.svg
Use National flag and ensign FIAV 111111.svg FIAV normal.svg
Proportion2:3
Adopted4 April 1959;66 years ago (1959-04-04)
DesignA vertical tricolour of green, gold, and red
Flag of Mali Flag of Mali.jpg
Flag of Mali

The national flag of Mali is a vertical tricolour of green, gold, and red, [1] the pan-African colours. The flag of Mali is almost identical to the flag of Guinea, with the exception that the colours are in reverse order.

Contents

History

The current flag was adopted on 1 March 1961. The original flag was adopted on 4 April 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a black kanaga , a shape of a squatter man with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed due to the opposition, in a country whose population is 90% Muslim (95% Sunni 5% Shia), of Islamic fundamentalists [2] (see Aniconism in Islam, the belief against making pictures of the human figure). [3]

Symbolism

The green stands for fertility of the land, gold stands for purity and mineral wealth, and the red symbolizes the blood shed for independence from the French. [4]

Colour scheme

Flag of Mali.svg GreenYellowRed
Pantone 2271c115c3546c
CMYK 91-0-100-00-9-100-00-86-63-0
RGB 20-181-58252-209-22206-17-38
Hexadecimal #14B53A#FCD116#CE1126

Historical flags

FlagYears of useRatioGovernmentDescription
Flag of the Mali Empire.svg c. 1324 Mali Empire (possible)The royal standard of Musa I (Mansa Musa) of the Mali Empire was reportedly a yellow rectangle centered on a red field. [5]
Flag of France.svg 1880–19582:3 French Sudan [a] The French tricolor was used as the official flag of French Sudan for most of its history.
Flag of French Sudan (1958-1959).svg 1958–19592:3A new flag was adopted in 1958, when French Sudan gained autonomy within the French Community. It consisted of the French tricolor with a black Kanaga centered on the white band.
Flag of Mali (1959-1961).svg 1959–19602:3 Mali Federation The flag initially adopted on Malian independence consisted of a vertical tricolor of green, gold, and red with a black Kanaga centered on the gold band.
1960-1961 Republic of Mali
Flag of Mali.svg 1961–present2:3The current flag of Mali was adopted on 1 March 1961, removing the Kanaga featured on the previous flag.

Other flags

See also

Notes

  1. The colonial region of French Sudan went through a number of administrative reorganizations between 1880 and 1959, changing names several times throughout the process. See: French Sudan § Administration and jurisdiction

References

  1. https://britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Mali
  2. "Flag of Mali". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  3. Guide to the Flags of the World by Mauro Talocci, revised and updated by Whitney Smith ( ISBN   0-688-01141-1), p. 124.
  4. "What Do The Colors And Symbols Of The Flag Of Mali Mean?". WorldAtlas. 24 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  5. Conrad, David (2010). Empires of medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. Infobase Publishing. pp. 36–37. ISBN   1604131640 . Retrieved 5 September 2025. The royal flag that flew over Mansa Musa when he rode out on horseback was yellow with a red background.