Malawi flag

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Malawi flag
Flag of Malawi.svg
Vexillological symbol : National flag on land, trade and service flag at sea?
Aspect ratio: 2: 3
Officially accepted: May 28, 2012

The flag of Malawi was introduced on July 6, 1964 with the independence of the state from the United Kingdom . A change of the national flag that came into force on August 7, 2010 by the then President Bingu wa Mutharika was reversed by the National Assembly on May 28, 2012 .

Description and meaning

The national flag of Malawi consists of three horizontal stripes of equal size, black above with a rising sun stylized in red, red in the middle and green below; the ratio of the height to the length of the flag cloth is 2 to 3. The colors have the following meaning:

  • Black stands for the people on the African continent
  • Red stands for the blood of the martyrs that was shed in the struggle for freedom
  • Green stands for the lush forests of Malawi

history

What is now Malawi became a British protectorate in 1891 . In 1914 the Nyassaland received its own coat of arms and carried it in the typical British colonial flag: dark blue with the " Union Jack " in the upper leech and the coat of arms of the colony at the bottom right.

Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, along with Southern Rhodesia , now Zimbabwe , and Northern Rhodesia , now Zambia . The new coat of arms showed a golden, rising sun on a blue background for Nyassaland, the red lion for southern Rhodesia and six silver waves on a black background for northern Rhodesia. The federation collapsed on December 31, 1963 when Zambia and Malawi gained independence from Great Britain.

The national flag from 1964 emerged from the black, red and green flag of the Malawi Congress Party , which led the country to independence. The party flag just has no sun in the black stripe. In the upper strip was the rising, dawn sun with 31 rays as a symbol of dawn for hope for a free and united Africa.

At the beginning of July 2010, the DPP majority in parliament decided to change the national flag. Starting with Independence Day on July 6th, it should consist of three horizontal stripes in red, black and green on which a full, white sun with 45 rays rests. This was to symbolize the progress in the country's development since independence. The decision led to sharp protests among the population; the opposition UDF brought the flag dispute to court. On July 29, 2010, President Bingu wa Mutharika signed the law introducing the new flag. After the death of President Mutharika, parliament and the new government under President Joyce Banda decided on May 28, 2012 to return to the old flag, after the new flag did not win much popular sympathy.

  • 1: 2 ? Union Jack (1891-1914) Historic flag

  • 1: 2 ? Flag of Nyasaland (1914–1953) Historic flag

  • 1: 2 ? Flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963) Historic flag

  • 2: 3 ? National flag of Malawi (1964-2010) Vexillological symbol Historic flag

  • 2: 3 ? National flag of Malawi (2010-2012) Vexillological symbol Historic flag

literature

Web links

Commons : Flags of Malawi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Malawi's Parliament, SADC defy new flag . In: Africa News . November 26, 2010, archived from the original on January 5, 2012 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 (English, original website no longer available).
  2. ↑ a b Malawi MPs vote to fly old rising sun flag ( English ) In: bbc.co.uk . Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ Parliament Okays flag change, to be launched on independence day. In: Nyasa Times. July 2, 2010, archived from the original on July 5, 2010 ; Retrieved August 30, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Rex Chikoko : Malawi: change to the national flag raises Temperatures . In: Africafrique . July 9, 2010, archived from the original on November 30, 2013 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 (English, original website no longer available).
  5. ^ Flag change to be challenged in court-UDF. In: Nyasa Times. July 1, 2010, archived from the original on July 22, 2011 ; Retrieved August 30, 2013 .
  6. ^ The Nation, July 30, 2010, Bingu endorses new Flag Bill