Flag of Zimbabwe
Proportion | 1:2 |
---|---|
Design | Seven horizontal stripes of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow and green with a black-edged white isosceles triangle base on the hoist side bearing a Zimbabwe bird superimposed on a red five-pointed star. |
Presidential flag of Zimbabwe | |
Adopted | 1987 |
The national flag of
History
The country now known as Zimbabwe was formally known as Southern Rhodesia from 1895 to 1980—although simply Rhodesia was used locally between 1964 until June 1979 after Northern Rhodesia obtained its independence—and then Zimbabwe Rhodesia between June and December 1979. Southern Rhodesia achieved responsible government in 1923, and thereby became a British self-governing colony following three decades of rule by the British South Africa Company. Following the granting of responsible government a flag was adopted which followed the standard British colonial practice, being a Blue Ensign, defaced with the shield from the Southern Rhodesian coat of arms. This basic design was used until 1968, although a light blue ensign was introduced in April 1964 following the break-up of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. On 11 November 1968, three years after the predominantly white government unilaterally declared independence from Britain, a national flag based on a completely new design was adopted. This was a green-white-green vertical triband, charged centrally with the national coat of arms. This was the first national flag to contain the Zimbabwe Bird, which had been present in the coat of arms since 1924.[1]
In 1979, when the country reconstituted itself as Zimbabwe Rhodesia following the Internal Settlement between the government and moderate black nationalists, a new flag was adopted to mark the transition on 4 September of that year.[2] The flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia was designed by Flight Lieutenant Cedric Herbert of the Rhodesian Air Force and a member of the Rhodesian Heraldry and Genealogy Society.[3]
The design incorporated the
In response, the Voice of Zimbabwe radio service operated by Robert Mugabe's
This flag was officially superseded in December 1979 when the UK took interim control of the country following the
-
Flag of the British South Africa Company
(1890–1923) -
Flag of Southern Rhodesia
(1924–1964) -
Flag of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
(1953–1963) -
Flag of Rhodesia
(1964–1968) -
Flag of Rhodesia
(1968–1979) -
Flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia
(1979)
Display and use
Display on uniforms
Some police officers in Zimbabwe have the national flag displayed on their uniforms' sleeve tops.[12]
Design
Colours and symbolism
The national flag of Zimbabwe is made up of five different colours:
The white triangle is a symbol for peace.
Specifications and the correct rendering of the Great Zimbabwe Bird
The Great Zimbabwe Bird first appeared in an armorial sense when it was incorporated in the coat of arms of Southern Rhodesia, which were granted by Royal Warrant on 11 August 1924.[20] It was first used on a national flag when the full arms were displayed on the Rhodesian flag that was adopted on 11 November 1968. It then appeared alone on the Zimbabwe Rhodesian flag of 1979, and it is now displayed on the flag of Zimbabwe. The arms of 1924 were initially retained by the Zimbabwean Government until a new coat of arms were adopted on 12 September 1981.[21]
The Zimbabwe Bird depicted on the flag is rendered in the same format as it appeared on the arms of 1924 and as it appeared on the Rhodesian flag of 1968 and the Zimbabwe Rhodesian flag of 1979. The red star on which the bird is placed is a regular star. However, a different, rather flattened version of the bird, sometimes displayed on an irregular, flattened star, is often seen on flags that are manufactured outside of Zimbabwe. The origin of this discrepancy appears to be an illustration of the proposed new flag that was first released by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Information in April 1980, just prior to the country attaining full independence.[22] This illustration showed the bird in a flattened version positioned over an irregular star. The poor quality of the illustration, with the star appearing as irregular on the flag, but regular under the description of the meanings on the right, and with the Zimbabwe Bird being omitted completely from where it should be next to the words The National Emblem, would suggest that it was done in haste and without accuracy. Nevertheless, in the absence of a better source, vexillologists outside of Zimbabwe have used this illustration as the basis for their rendering of the emblem on the flag, which has then been copied by many flag manufacturers outside of Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, flag manufacturers inside Zimbabwe continue to produce flags emblazoned with the original version of the bird sitting on a regular star. As a result, these two variations of the Zimbabwean flag are both in common use, however the version of the flag with the regular star is the correct one according to official specifications.[23]
Similarities
The colours used on the flag of Zimbabwe are closely shared with that of the ruling
In popular culture
On 7 August 1980, Samora Machel made a famous speech involving the national flag of Zimbabwe, in which he said while holding the flag, "This flag covers everyone. There are no blacks in Zimbabwe, there are no whites, there are no mulattos and Indians, today there are just Zimbabweans."[26]
In Harare, Zimbabwe, in 2011, every other car had one too many miniature national flags plastered onto it. Sales of the national flag were sky-high in the country.[27] According to Petina Gappah in The Guardian in 2010, the flag is a "reminder that the nation was born of pain".[28]
See also
References
- ^ Smith, Whitney, ed. (1976). The Flag Bulletin. Volumes 15–17. Winchester, Massachusetts: Flag Research Center. p. 46.
- Associated Press Archive, 4 September 1979
- ^ The Flag Bulletin, Volume 18, 1979, page 188
- ANU E Press, 2010, page 57-58
- BBC Monitoring Service, 1979
- ISBN 9788179915127.
- ^ ISBN 9780520055896.
- ^ ISBN 9780822523994.
- ISBN 9780807849033.
- ^ "Designer of the Flag". Crw Flags. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th century) | Thematic Essay | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- ISBN 9781412055840.
- ISBN 9781553790563.
- ^ "Zimbabwe". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ a b "National Flag". Government of Zimbabwe. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- JSTOR 3336358.
- JSTOR 3889033.
- ISBN 9781452016634.
- ^ "Mugabe's Marxism". Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Rhodesia, The College Press, General Editor Mary Akers, 15 Douglas Road, Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1973, Page 26
- ^ http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/zw.html. Coat of Arms. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ The Flag of Zimbabwe, Published by the Ministry of Information and Tourism, P.O. Box 8232, Causeway, Zimbabwe, April 1980
- ^ http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/zw.html. Zimbabwe Bird emblem. Retrieved 5 June 2016
- ISBN 9780195219203.
- ISBN 9780813522111.
- ISBN 9781919930312.
- ^ "Flood of flags sweeps Harare". The Zimbabwean. 23 February 2011.
- ^ Gappah, Petina (14 April 2010). "Mugabe inflames the Afro-pessimists, but Zimbabwe's story is much deeper". The Guardian.