Flag of the Comoros

Last updated
National flag of the Union of the Comoros
Flag of the Comoros.svg
Use National flag FIAV 111000.svg FIAV normal.svg IFIS Mirror.svg
Proportion3:5
Adopted23 December 2001;22 years ago (2001-12-23) [1]
DesignFour horizontal stripes of yellow, white, red and blue (from top to bottom); with a green chevron based on the hoist side charged with a white crescent and four five-pointed stars
Flag at the Comorian embassy in Paris Comoran embassy in Paris.jpg
Flag at the Comorian embassy in Paris

The national flag of the Union of the Comoros was designed in 2001 and officially adopted on 23 December of that year. [1] [2] [3] It continues to display the crescent and four stars, which is a motif that has been in use in various forms since 1975 during the independence movement. [4] In its constitution, the government of the Comoros refers to the insignia as l'emblème national, or the "national emblem", though it is understood to actually represent a flag. [3]

Contents

Colours

The colours are defined in the constitution as simply yellow, white, red, blue, and green. Nowhere does the government document any specific colour shades. For lack of any official standard, the colours used at the 2012 Olympics are shown in the table below.

Pantone colours used at the 2012 Olympics
(with RGB approximations) [5]
SchemeGreenYellowWhiteRedBlue
Pantone355109Safe32293
RGB0-150-57255-209-0255–255–255239-51-640-61-165
HTML009639FFD100FFFFFFEF3340003DA5

Design

The design consists of a white crescent with four white five-pointed stars inside of a green triangle. The flag has four stripes, representing the four main islands of the nation: yellow for Mohéli, white for Mayotte (a French department claimed by the Comoros), red for Anjouan and blue for Grande Comore. The four stars on the flag also symbolize the four islands. The star and crescent, as well as the colour green on the flag, symbolise their main religion, Islam. [4]

The stars' points are usually orientated upwards, as reflected in the model supplied when the flag was adopted, though legal documents concerning the flag do not specify the flag's orientation and there is a variant in which the stars point outwards and not up. [3]

History

The first official flag of Comoros was designed and adopted for local use in 1963 by Suzanne Gauthier, before Comoros gained its independence. It had a white crescent at upper hoist facing the fly, four stars in a diagonal, and used a 5:7 proportion with a green background. This design continued to be used after independence in 1975. [6]

The flag changed in 1975 under Ali Soilih. The crescent was moved and the stars were rearranged into a diamond. Two thirds of the flag became red and symbolized the regime's socialist ideology. This flag shares the design to that of the Soviet-era and post-1995 Belarusian flags. [7]

When Ahmed Abdallah returned to the presidency in 1978, the flag changed again. It returned to being completely green, with the crescent moving to the centre of the flag and the stars forming a line between its horns. Information about the proportions of this variant suggest either a 1:2, 2:3, or 3:5 ratio. [8]

With the adoption of a new constitution in 1992, the flag changed again, with the crescent and stars rotated to face upward rather than down and to the right. [9]

The adoption of yet another constitution changed the flag again in 1996, rotating the flag to face the fly and adding a white inscription to the lower hoist and another to the upper fly. The inscriptions are written in Arabic calligraphy with the former reading "Muhammed" and the latter reading "Allah". The proportions of this flag were reported to be 7:5 (1.4:1). This flag was changed by referendum in 2001 to the modern one. [10]

From 1996 until 2001, variants of the Comorian national flag supplied mainly by Annin Flagmakers contained the names "Muhammad" and "Allah" written out in longform. A similar flag using this design was flown outside the United Nations headquarters in 2000, which caught the attention of the Comorian ambassador, resulting in him rejecting the flag flown on display. [11]

Former flags of the Comoros

Flags of individual islands

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comoros</span> African island country in the Indian Ocean

The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. Comoros proclaimed its independence from France on 6 July 1975. A member of the Arab League, it is the only country in the Arab world which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. It is a member state of the African Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Shikomori, French and Arabic.

The history of the Comoros extends to about 800–1000 AD when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of the Comoros</span>

The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands aligned along a northwest–southeast axis at the north end of the Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Still widely known by their French names, the islands officially have been called by their Swahili names by the Comorian government. They are Grande Comore (Njazidja), Mohéli (Mwali), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Mayotte (Mahoré). The islands' distance from each other—Grande Comore is some 200 kilometers from Mayotte, forty kilometers from Mohéli, and eighty kilometers from Anjouan—along with a lack of good harbor facilities, make transportation and communication difficult. Comoros are sunny islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Comoros</span>

The Union of the Comoros consists of the three islands Njazidja, Mwali (Moheli) and Nzwani (Anjouan) while the island of Mayotte remains under French administration. The Politics of the Union of the Comoros take place in a framework of a unitary presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The precolonial legacies of the sultanates linger while the political situation in Comoros has been extremely fluid since the country's independence in 1975, subject to the volatility of coups and political insurrection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjouan</span> Autonomous island in Comoros

Anjouan is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Union of the Comoros. It is known in Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentieth century when the name fell out of general use, in English as Johanna. Historically it was also called Hinzuan or Hanzoan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azali Assoumani</span> President of the Comoros (born 1959)

Azali Assoumani is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of the Comoros from 2002 to 2006 and again since 2016, except for a brief period in 2019. He became head of state after staging a coup d'état in 1999 and was elected president in 2002, 2016, 2019 and 2024. He also served as Chairperson of the African Union February 2023 to February 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comoro Islands</span> Archipelago in the Indian Ocean

The Comoro Islands or the Comoros are an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwest of Madagascar. The islands are politically divided between the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign country, and Mayotte, an Overseas Department of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohéli</span> Autonomous Island of the Union of the Comoros

Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is an autonomous island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the smallest of the four major Comoro Islands. Its capital and largest city is Fomboni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grande Comore</span> Autonomous island in Comoros

Grande Comore is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two shield volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the country's highest point at 2,361 m (7,746 ft) above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, with the federal government being much reduced in power. The name Ngazidja is sometimes seen in the now nonstandard form Njazidja.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Soilih</span> President of the Comoros from 1976 to 1978

Ali Soilih M'Tsashiwa was a Comorian socialist revolutionary and political figure who served as the 3rd President of the Comoros from 3 January 1976 to 13 May 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the Comoros</span> Political elections for public offices in the Comoros

Elections in the Comoros take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and the majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Union are directly elected.

The postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago located on the south-east side of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 Comorian independence referendum</span>

An independence referendum was held in the Comoros on 22 December 1974. The overall result was a strong "yes" vote, with 94.57% of voters voting for independence and almost all the "no" votes being cast in Mayotte, where there was a majority for remaining under French control. In contrast, on Mohéli only five out of 6,059 votes were against independence. Voter turnout was 93.3%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–Comoros relations</span> Bilateral relations

China–Comoros relations refers to the current and historical relationship between China and the Comoros. China has an embassy in Moroni and the Comoros has an embassy in Beijing. Relations were established by Comorian President Ali Soilih on 13 November 1975 and have been described as "friendly and cooperative".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of the Comoros</span>

The official languages of the Comoros are Comorian, French and Arabic, as recognized under its 2001 constitution. Although each language holds equal recognition under the constitution, language use varies across Comorian society. Unofficial minority languages such as Malagasy and Swahili are also present on the island with limited usage. According to Harriet Joseph Ottenheimer, a professor of anthropology at Kansas State university, the linguistic diversity of the Comoros is the result of its rich history as part of the Indian maritime trade routes and its periods of Malagasy and French colonial rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Anjouan independence referendum</span>

An independence referendum was held on Anjouan, an island in the Comoros, on 26 October 1997. Over 99% of voters voted in favour of independence. However, the vote was not recognised and the island returned to the control of the Comorian government in 2001.

Said Ali Kemal was a Comorian politician. He was the son of Prince Saïd Ibrahim Ben Ali and the grandson of Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territory of the Comoros</span>

The Territory of the Comoros was a French overseas territory consisting of the four main Comoro Islands that existed from 1946 to 1975. It was part of the French Union under the Fourth Republic, then part of the French Community established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic from 1958.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Flags of the World
  2. Flag History of Comoros Archived 2016-10-18 at the Wayback Machine . Al Akhbar page on the flag of the Comoros. Retrieved on 2014-07-07.
  3. 1 2 3 Berry, Bruce (10 March 2016). "Comoros". Flags of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Flag of Comoros". Gettysburg Flag Works. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  5. Flags and anthems manual London 2012
  6. 1 2 Berry, Bruce (10 March 2016). "Comoros (1963 - 1975". Flags of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 Berry, Bruce (10 March 2016). "Comoros (1975 - 1978)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 Berry, Bruce (10 March 2016). "Comoros (1978 - 1992)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  9. 1 2 Berry, Bruce (10 March 2016). "Comoros (1992 - 1996)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  10. 1 2 Raeside, Rob (10 March 2016). "Comoros (1996 - 2001)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  11. "Comoros: Variations of the 1996-2001 flag". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  12. "Comoros: Variations of the 1996-2001 flag". Flags of the World.