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The flag of the Balearic Islands is the official flag of the Balearic Islands, an archipelago and autonomous community of Spain located in the western Mediterranean Sea. The flag, which was adopted in the 1983 Statute of Autonomy, incorporates the design of the Senyera.
The official specification of the flag is included in the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, passed in 1983 as the Organic Law 2/1983. The law was revised by Organic Laws 9/1994 and 3/1999. However, the article defining the community's flag remained as follows:
4th Article. 1. The flag of the Balearic Islands, made up of distinctive, historically legitimised symbols, will consist of four horizontal red bars over a yellow background, having an upper-left quarter with a purple background behind a centred white castle with five turrets. 2. Each island will be allowed to have its own flag and distinctive symbols, by agreement of their respective councils.
The most recent Statute of Autonomy, from 2007, maintained the same wording for the article which defines the flag, although it changed from the fourth to the sixth article of the Statute.
The autonomous government does not precisely specify the colours of the flag, so that the tones of yellow, red and purple often vary, although the purple is habitually chosen to be dark. Similarly, the design of the castle is not defined, and so various designs have flourished with minor differences, such as the size of the castle with respect to the quarter, or the details of their masonry. Generally, the castle is represented with a wall above which the five towers are placed, of which the central tower is often the highest.
The Draft Bill of the 1931 Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, formulated during the years of the Second Spanish Republic, although eventually not passed, merely established in its third article that: The flag of the region is that of the historical Kingdom of Mallorca . The historical flag of the Kingdom of Mallorca was taken to be that of the city of Palma de Mallorca, with two castles over a blue background. The current official flags of the Balearic Islands and Mallorca are modern creations based on this flag, and do not respect the rules of heraldry (use of purple, and a reversed castle in the case of Mallorca). [1]
In Spain, an autonomous community is the first sub-national level of political and administrative division, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy of the nationalities and regions that make up Spain.
The Senyera is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a yellow field. This coat of arms, often called bars of Aragon, or simply "the four bars", historically represented the King of the Crown of Aragon.
Spain is a diverse country integrated by contrasting entities with varying economic and social structures, languages, and historical, political and cultural traditions. The Spanish constitution responds ambiguously to the claims of historic nationalities while proclaiming a common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards.
The Spanish autonomous community and province of La Rioja has a coat of arms, which was assigned to the former province of Logroño in 1957, and to the present autonomous community on its foundation in 1982. It consists of a shield which is divided vertically into two halves, featuring respectively the Cross of Saint James and a castle, and is surmounted by a royal crown. Also depicted are Monte Laturce and the Ebro river.
The flag of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is a vertical tricolour of three equal bands of white, blue, and yellow. The state flag includes the Coat of arms of the Canary Islands in the central band; the civil flag omits this. The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community on 16 August 1982.
The flag of the Valencian Community and of the city of Valencia, known as Reial Senyera, is the traditional Senyera, composed of four red bars on a yellow background, crowned with a blue strip party per pale next to the hoist. It was adopted on 1 July 1982.
The 2011 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 22 May 2011, to elect the 8th Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 1983 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 8 May 1983, to elect the 1st Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 54 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 1987 Balearic regional election was held on Wednesday, 10 June 1987, to elect the 2nd Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1987 European Parliament election.
The 1991 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 1995 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 1999 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.
The 2003 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The 2007 Balearic regional election was held on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 7th Parliament of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. All 59 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Mallorca is one of the four constituencies represented in the Parliament of the Balearic Islands, the regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. The constituency currently elects 33 deputies. Its boundaries correspond to those of the island of Mallorca. The electoral system uses the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a minimum threshold of five percent.
The flag of Castilla–La Mancha is one of the representative symbols of the Autonomous Community of Castilla–La Mancha, in Spain, defined by its Statute of Autonomy.
The coat of arms of the Castilla–La Mancha is described in the Spanish Law 1 of 30 June 1983, the Law of the coat of arms of Castilla-La Mancha Region and further regulated by Decree 132 of 5 July 1983, approving the official design of the coat of arms of Castilla-La Mancha and Decree 115 of 12 November 1985, supplementing Decree 132/1983.
The coat of arms of the Region of Murcia is described in the article 4 of the Spanish Organic Law 4 of 9 June 1982, the Statute of Autonomy of the Region of Murcia and further regulated by Decree 34 of 8 June 1983, approving the official design and use of the coat of arms of the Region of Murcia.
There is a variety of Vernacular languages spoken in Spain. Spanish, the official language in the entire country, is the predominant native language in almost all of the autonomous communities in Spain. Six of the seventeen autonomous communities in Spain have other co-official languages in addition to Spanish. Bilingualism in different degrees and in distinct communicative situations between Spanish and another language is a habitual practice for many of the Spanish people who reside in one of these autonomous communities.
The Day of the Canary Islands is celebrated annually on 30 May. It is a public holiday in the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands.
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