Proportion | 2:3 or 3:5 [lower-alpha 1] |
---|---|
Adopted | 20 October 1947 |
Design | Sky blue banner with an all-white UN emblem (azimuthal equidistant projection surrounded by two olive branches) in the centre. |
Designed by | Donal McLaughlin (emblem only) |
The flag of the United Nations is a sky blue banner containing the United Nations' emblem in the centre. The emblem on the flag is coloured white; it is a depiction of the world map in the azimuthal equidistant projection (centred on the North Pole), which is surrounded by a pair of olive branches. The emblem was officially adopted on 7 December 1946, and the flag containing the emblem was officially adopted on 20 October 1947. [1]
The flag of the United Nations consists of the white emblem on the sky blue background. The emblem depicts a azimuthal equidistant projection of the world map, centred on the North Pole, with the globe being bisected in the centre by the Prime meridian and the International Date Line. The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude, and includes five concentric circles. The map is inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized branches of the olive tree. [1] [2]
The size of the emblem on the flag is one half the width of the flag itself. The flag proportions of the aspect ratio of the flag height to its width, are equal 2:3, 3:5 or to the same proportions as the national flag of any country in which the UN flag is flown. [2] White and blue are the official colours of the United Nations. The light blue background colour code is Pantone Matching System 2925. It approximates sky blue. [3]
The olive branches are a symbol for peace, and the world map represents all the people and the countries of the world. [2]
The organizers of the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, California wanted an insignia that could be made into a pin to identify delegates. United States Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, Jr. was chairperson of the U.S. delegation, and realized that a temporary design might become the permanent symbol of the United Nations. He formed a committee headed by Oliver Lundquist that developed a design consisting of a world map surrounded by leaves from a design created by Donal McLaughlin. [4] [5]
McLaughlin had previously worked as chief of graphics for the Office of Strategic Services that preceded the CIA. The azimuthal equidistant projection used in his design was heavily influenced by the maps created during World War II by Richard Edes Harrison, a popular cartographer working for Fortune and Life. [6] [7] .
The blue that appears in the background of the insignia was chosen to be "the opposite of red, the war colour", [8] although the exact shade has never been officially specified by the United Nations. The original colour the group chose in 1945 was a gray blue that differs from the current United Nations flag, unofficially called "Stettinius Blue", and it was selected because at that time it was not in use in any national flag [9] The globe used in the original design was an azimuthal projection focused on the North Pole with the United States, the host nation of the conference, at the centre. The projection that was used cut off portions of the Southern Hemisphere below 40 degrees south latitude [1] (parts of Argentina), which was acceptable at the time, as Argentina was not planned to be an original member of the United Nations. [10] The projection was later altered so that the globe is bisected in the centre by the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line, placing Europe approximately at prominence. According to official explanations, the change was made to represent countries "as far as possible in their proper relationship to the cardinal points" [1] and "so the east and west were in balance". [5]
In 1946, a UNO committee was tasked to make a definite design, which was presented 2 December 1946. The emblem was adopted by the plenary session of the UNO on 7 December 1946, and the flag was officially adopted on 20 October 1947. [1]
According to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, the emblem and the flag of the United Nations can be used by the personnel and material of UN peacekeeping missions as a protective sign to prevent attacks during an armed conflict.
The United Nations flag may also be flown as a garrison flag with other country flags. Garrison size is 10 feet by 30 feet.
Image | Entity abbrev. | Entity name | Image description |
---|---|---|---|
IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency | The IAEA has a flag with the same colours and olive branches as the United Nations. The central symbol is the Bohr model of the Beryllium-atom with four electrons. [11] The IAEA is independent of but reporting to the United Nations. | |
ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization | Is that of the UN with pilot's wings superimposed. | |
ILO | International Labour Organization | Is that of the UN, but replacing the map with an interrupted gear wheel with the letters "ILO" inside it. | |
IMO | International Maritime Organization | Takes the UN flag, shrinks the map image and puts a chained cross of anchors behind it. | |
ITU | International Telecommunication Union | Has the ITU logo—a globe, lightning bolt, and the letters "ITU". | |
UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Has the same colours as the United Nations; its symbol is a Greek temple (possibly the Parthenon), representing science, learning and culture. The six columns are made of the letters of the organization's name. | |
UNICEF | United Nations Children's Fund | Has the leaves and globe of the UN flag but with a mother and child inlay instead of the world map. | |
UPU | Universal Postal Union | Is UN blue with the organization's logo in white. | |
WFP | World Food Programme | Has the olive leaves of the UN flag, with a hand clutching grains in the centre, in place of the globe. The white/blue colours of the UN flag are reversed in the WFP flag. | |
WHO | World Health Organization | Identical to the UN flag, with a Rod of Asclepius, a traditional symbol of medicine, added. | |
WMO | World Meteorological Organization | The flag is that of the UN with a compass rose and the letters "OMM/WMO" atop the globe. | |
ICC | International Criminal Court | The flag of the ICC, though not an organ of the UN, resembles that of a UN agency. |
The UN flag is the origin of a family of national flags. Because of the UN's association with peace and cooperation, UN-inspired flags are often adopted by states that have experienced conflict or instability. Many states with UN-inspired flags either were or were a part of United Nations trust territories.
Image | Entity abbrev. | Description |
---|---|---|
Bosnia and Herzegovina | The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina was introduced by the UN High Representative Carlos Westendorp after the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina could not agree on a common flag. The color scheme references the flag of Europe as much or more than the UN. | |
Cambodia (1992–1993) | The flag of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia uses the UN colours with a white map of Cambodia with the word for Cambodia in Khmer script. | |
Cyprus | The flag of Cyprus uses a map and olive branches inspired by the UN flag. | |
Eritrea (1952–1962) | The first flag of Eritrea used UN blue and olive branches. | |
Eritrea (1993–present) | The current flag of Eritrea uses less UN blue but retains the olive branches. | |
Federated States of Micronesia | The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia is derived from the former UN-inspired flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, of which it was a part. | |
Kosovo | The flag of Kosovo, was adopted 17 February 2008. Until then, Kosovo had been under the administration of the United Nations since 10 June 1999 and had used the UN flag for official purposes. | |
Northern Mariana Islands | The flag of the Northern Mariana Islands is also derived from the former UN-inspired flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, of which it was a part. | |
Somalia (1954–present) | The flag of Somalia has UN blue and white, and was first used during the period of the United Nations Trust Territory of Somaliland. | |
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands | The flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands uses UN blue and was adopted during a period of UN-administered transition to independence. | |
Turkmenistan | The Flag of Turkmenistan uses UN olive branches below the five carpet guls. |
The subnational flags, flags of constituent political entities of some states with UN-inspired flags, states that either were or were a part of United Nations trust territories, sometimes also derive inspiration from the flag of the United Nations.
Image | Entity | Description |
---|---|---|
Kosrae | Kosrae is one of four constituent states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The flag of Kosrae features an azure field with white stars and laurel leaves. | |
Pohnpei State | Pohnpei State is one of four constituent states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The flag of Pohnpei State features a blue field with white stars and a wreath of coconut leaves. | |
Chuuk State | Chuuk State is one of four constituent states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The flag of Chuuk State features a blue field with a ring white stars surrounding a palm tree. | |
Yap State | Yap State is one of four constituent states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The flag of Yap State features an azure field with a ring surrounding a traditional sailing canoe and voided circle with star, all in white. |
The municipal flags of constituent political entities of some states with UN-inspired flags, states that either were or were a part of United Nations trust territories, sometimes also derive inspiration from the flag of the United Nations.
Image | Entity | Description |
---|---|---|
U, Federated States of Micronesia | U, Federated States of Micronesia is one of six municipalities of Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia. The flag of U features an azure field with five white stars and the pair of olive branches of the Flag of the United Nations. |
The flag of Europe or European flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It is the official flag of the European Union. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe.
A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours and symbols, which may also be used separately from the flag as a symbol of the nation. The design of a national flag is sometimes altered after the occurrence of important historical events.
The flag of Chile consists of two equal-height horizontal bands of white and red, with a blue square the same height as the white band in the canton, which bears a white five-pointed star in the center. It was adopted on 18 October 1817. The Chilean flag is also known in Spanish as La Estrella Solitaria.
The national flag of the Union of the Comoros was designed in 2001 and officially adopted on 23 December of that year. 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. 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.
The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a medium blue field with a yellow right triangle separating said field, and there are seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle.
The national flag of Cyprus came into use on 16 August 1960, under the Zürich and London Agreements, whereby a constitution was drafted and Cyprus was proclaimed an independent state. The flag was designed by Turkish Cypriot artist İsmet Güney. The design of the flag deliberately employs peaceful and neutral symbols in an attempt to indicate harmony between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, an ideal that has not yet been realised. In 1963, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities separated because of Cypriot intercommunal violence.
The national flag of Vietnam, formally the National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, locally recognized as cờ đỏ sao vàng or cờ Tổ quốc, was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against the French and Japanese in Southern Vietnam that year. The red background symbolizes revolution and bloodshed. The golden star symbolizes the soul of the nation and the five points of the star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society—intellectuals, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and soldiers.
The national flag of Spain, as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name la Rojigualda (red-weld).
The azimuthal equidistant projection is an azimuthal map projection. It has the useful properties that all points on the map are at proportionally correct distances from the center point, and that all points on the map are at the correct azimuth (direction) from the center point. A useful application for this type of projection is a polar projection which shows all meridians as straight, with distances from the pole represented correctly.
The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor is the official emblem and insignia of the United States Marine Corps. The current emblem traces its roots in the designs and ornaments of the early Continental Marines as well as the United Kingdom's Royal Marines. The present emblem, adopted in 1955, differs from the emblem of 1868 only by a change in the eagle. Before that time many devices, ornaments, ribbons, and distinguishing marks followed one another as official badges of the corps.
The island nation of Malta has a variety of national flags and symbols, some current and some no longer in use.
The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008. The flag design emerged from an international competition, organized by an informal group from the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government known as the Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The winning design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo, all on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Kosovo was introduced following the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008. It shows six white stars in an arc above a solid golden shape of Kosovo as seen on a standard projection map, placed on a rounded triangular shield with a blue field and a golden border. Its central figures, the stars and the shape, are also the content of the new blue flag of Kosovo, adopted at the same time. A golden map of Kosovo on a blue field surmounted by stars were also featured on the emblem used when Kosovo was administered by the United Nations.
Queen Elizabeth II had a variety of flags to represent her personally and as head of state of several independent nations around the world. They were usually used on any building, ship, car, or aircraft where she was present.
Oliver Lincoln Lundquist was an American architect and industrial designer who headed the team which was responsible for the design of the United Nations logo and who himself designed the Q-Tip box.
Donal McLaughlin was an American architect who played a major role in the design of the flag of the United Nations.
Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to visually identify the nation or branch of military service to which the aircraft belong. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as stars, crosses, squares, or triangles are also used. Insignia are often displayed on the sides of the fuselage, the upper and lower surfaces of the wings, as well as on the fin or rudder of an aircraft, although considerable variation can be found amongst different air arms and within specific air arms over time.
The flag of the president of the United States consists of the presidential coat of arms on a dark blue background. While having the same design as the presidential seal since 1945, the flag has a separate history, and the designs on the flag and seal have at different times influenced each other. The flag is often displayed by the president in official photos, or flown next to the casket of a former president in official funeral processions, and flown on the president's motorcade. The flag is not flown at half-staff since there is always an incumbent president in office. The current flag is defined in Executive Order 10860:
The Color and Flag of the President of the United States shall consist of a dark blue rectangular background of sizes and proportions to conform to military and naval custom, on which shall appear the Coat of Arms of the President in proper colors. The proportions of the elements of the Coat of Arms shall be in direct relation to the hoist, and the fly shall vary according to the customs of the military and naval services.
The United Nations Honour Flag was a flag symbolizing the Allies of World War II and their goal of world peace. It was designed in October 1942 by Brooks Harding, and it had some degree of use as a flag from 13 June 1943 to c. 1948 to represent the "United Nations" in the sense of the January 1942 Declaration by United Nations. However, it was never an official flag of the United Nations as an organization.
The flag of Earth is a concept of a possible flag design meant to symbolize the planet Earth, humankind, or a possible world government.