Flag of Seychelles

The flag of Seychelles was adopted on January 8, 1996.[1] The current flag is the third used by the country since its independence from Britain on June 29, 1976.[2] The colours used in the current flag are the official colours of two of the nation's major political parties–Seychelles People's United Party and the Seychelles Democratic Party.

Republic of Seychelles
UseNational flag and ensign
Proportion1:2
AdoptedJune 18, 1996
DesignFive oblique bands of blue, yellow, red, white and green radiating from the bottom of the hoist side.
Variant flag of the Republic of Seychelles
Adopted1977 to 1996
DesignTwo horizontal bands of red and green with the white wavy horizontal stripe in the center.
Variant flag of the Republic of Seychelles
AdoptedJune 1976 to June 1977
DesignA white diagonal cross divided into four triangles of blue (top and bottom) and red (hoist-side and fly-side).

Description

The flag consists of five different coloured bands (blue, yellow, red, white, and green) starting from one end and diverging towards the other end.[3][4] The oblique bands symbolize a dynamic new country moving into the future. The colour blue depicts the sky and the sea that surrounds the Seychelles. Yellow is for the sun which gives light and life, red symbolizes the people and their determination to work for the future in unity and love, while the white band represents social justice and harmony. The green depicts the land and natural environment.[3][5]

History

The original flag was adopted after independence on June 29, 1976. It had alternating blue and red triangles. Coincidentally the flag was almost identical to the Australian United Steam Navigation Company's flag.[5]

In 1977, when president James Mancham was overthrown by France-Albert René, the old flag was abolished and the red, white and green flag based on the flag of the Seychelles People's United Party came into use, which had a distinct wavy white stripe. The only significant difference between the national flag and SPUP's flag was the depiction of the sun in the party's flag which was not used in the country's flag. The flag looked like a combination of the flag of the Latvian SSR and the Lithuanian SSR. When the party lost the majority in the elections, other parties demanded a change in the flag which led to a parliamentary approval of a new proposed design.[5]

British colonial flags
  • Flag of Seychelles from 1903-1961-badge designed by Major-General Charles George Gordon. Prior to 1903, Seychelles was administered as a dependency of Mauritius
  • Flag of Seychelles from 1961-1976-badge designed by Mrs. Alec McEwen of Toronto, Canada
  • Governor's flag 1903-1961
  • Governor's flag 1961-1976

Presidential standard
  • Flag of the President (1976–1977)
  • Used from 1977 to 1996, the national flag of 1977, with a yellow border, defaced with a white circle containing the Coat of arms of the Seychelles
  • Used from 1996, the national flag defaced with the Coat of arms on the upper right corner[3]

References
  1. DK Publishing (2009). Complete Flags of the World. DK Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-7566-5486-3.
  2. "Seychelles flag". World Flags. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  3. New National Symbols of the Republic of Seychelles - Republic of Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  4. Lyn Mair; Lynnath Beckley (2012). Seychelles. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-84162-406-8.
  5. Smith, Whitney. "flag of Seychelles". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
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