Flag of the Marshall Islands

The flag of the Marshall Islands, an island nation in the Pacific, was adopted upon the start of self-government, May 1, 1979. The flag was designed by Emlain Kabua, who served as the first First Lady of the republic.[1]

Marshall Islands
UseNational flag
Proportion10:19
AdoptedMay 1, 1979
DesignA blue field with two diagonal stripes of orange and white radiating from the lower hoist-side corner to the upper fly-side corner and the large white star with four large rays and twenty small rays on the upper hoist-side corner above the stripes.
Designed byEmlain Kabua
Marshall Islands flag at the Majuro Cooperative School.

Rules and specifications regarding the flag are set forth in the Official Flag of the Marshall Islands Act 1979 (Public Law 1979-1).[2]

History

The Marshall Islands were part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the United States, from which the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia split. In common with other island nations in the region, this flag features the symbolic representation of the islands' place within the ocean. The rising diagonal band represents the equator, the star above representing this Northern Hemisphere archipelago. The white and orange portions of the band represent, respectively, the Ratak Chain ("sunrise") and the Ralik Chain ("sunset"), as well as symbolizing peace and courage. The sun's 24 points represent the number of electoral districts, while the four elongated points represent the principal cultural centers of Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje and Ebeye. The flag is also the national flag with the most points on a star, at 24.

  • Flag used during German colonial rule from 1878 to 1894
  • Flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; was used in the RMI from 1965 to 1979
  • The flag of the United Nations was also used in the RMI from 1947 to 1965
  • The flag of the United States with 48 stars was also used in the RMI from 1944 to 1959 (see Timeline of the flag of the United States for more information on the stars on this flag increasing in number)
  • The flag of the United States with 49 stars was also used in the RMI from 1959 to 1960
  • The flag of the United States with 50 stars was also used in the RMI from 1960 to 1986
  • Current flag, from 1979 to the present.

Subnational flags

References
  1. "RMI Flag". Office of the President of the Marshall Islands. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  2. "Marshall Island Revised Code 2014 (1 MIRC Ch. 3)". paclii.org. Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
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