Flag of NATO

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Flag of NATO
Flag of NATO.svg
Vexillological symbol : Civic flag and commercial flag?
Aspect ratio: 3: 4
Officially accepted: October 14, 1953

The NATO flag consists of a navy blue ( Panton 280) field on which a white compass rose is attached in the middle, from which four white lines radiate. The flag was adopted on October 14, 1953, four years after NATO was founded. It has an aspect ratio of 3: 4.

history

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established on April 4, 1949, after 12 countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty to withstand the perceived threat from the Soviet Union . It took three years for NATO to start looking for a symbol, a task that was carried out by the newly established information policy working group. After several discussions it was concluded that a flag with the symbol of the organization on it was necessary and that it should be adopted by the North Atlantic Council .

The council decided that the design should be “simple and distinctive”, in keeping with the “peaceful objectives” of the treaty; several proposals were rejected. A NATO emblem was finally adopted on October 14, 1953. The decision was announced by Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay - first Secretary General of NATO - exactly two weeks later, on October 28th. He described the flag as "simple and harmless". However, the flag was not widely accepted and drew criticism from US Congressman John Travers Wood , who described the flag as "a strange and strange rag". He expressed this remark in view of an alleged incident at the headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in Norfolk ( Virginia ), where the flag of the United States was reportedly replaced by the NATO flag.

The flag was first hoisted on the occasion of the opening of the Atlantic Exhibition on November 9, 1953 in Paris . However, little is known about the event, as the speech given at the event could no longer be found.

symbolism

The flag colors have cultural, political and regional meanings. The navy blue background represents the Atlantic Ocean, while the circle around the compass rose represents joint action by the members. The white compass rose in the middle symbolizes the common course of all members towards world peace; it was changed once. The four strokes mark the cardinal directions N , S , W and O .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Cavendish: The Founding of NATO . In: History Today . 49, No. 4, 1999. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f The Birth of the Emblem ( English ) In: NATO.int . North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ NATO: The Colors (English) . In: Time , November 9, 1953. Retrieved July 17, 2015. 
  4. ↑ a b Idaho Lawmaker Raps NATO Flag (English) . In: The Spokesman Review , April 18, 1952, p. 12. Retrieved July 17, 2015. 
  5. ↑ NATO Flag Flown (English) . In: Toledo Blade , November 10, 1953, p. 2. Retrieved July 17, 2015. 
  6. ↑ Le Drapeau de l'OTAN-The Flag of NATO ( English, French ) In: CPVA.ca . Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association. Retrieved July 17, 2015.

Web links

Commons : NATO flag  - collection of images, videos and audio files