Flag of North Macedonia
Proportion | 1:2 |
---|---|
Adopted | 5 October 1995 | (as established in the Constitution of North Macedonia)
Design | A stylized yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the centre to the edge of the field. |
Designed by | Miroslav Grčev |
The flag of North Macedonia depicts a stylized yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the center to the edge of the field. It was created by Miroslav Grčev and was adopted on 5 October 1995.
The eight-rayed sun derives from the national emblem[1] and represents the "new sun of Liberty" referred to in "Denes nad Makedonija" ("Today over Macedonia").[2] The first post-Yugoslav flag of the country, adopted in 1992, known as the Kutlesh Flag, featured the Vergina Sun, a symbol that had been discovered at Aigai, the first capital and burial ground of the ancient kings of Macedon. Greece imposed a year-long economic embargo in order to persuade the country to remove it from its flag, resulting in the current design.
History
Flag of People's Republic of Macedonia (1944–1946)
The modern Macedonian state was proclaimed underground on 2 August 1944 by the
Flag of Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1946–1992)
Between December 1946 and September 1991, the
Kutlesh flag (1992–1995)
In 1992,
The Vergina Sun was regarded by Greece as a symbol of continuity between ancient Macedonia and modern Greek culture, and in particular as a symbol of the Argead dynasty of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. From the late 1970s it had also been adopted by many both in Greece and the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia to symbolise historical connections with ancient Macedonia and had been paraded in demonstrations by Greeks and ethnic Macedonians at home and abroad.[8]
The flag, the new state's constitution and its name all became the focus of a dispute between the two countries, during which Greece imposed an economic blockade on the Republic from February 1994. In July 1995, Greece lodged a request with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for exclusive trademark protection to the Vergina Sun.[9]
Greek objections also prevented the flag from being flown at the
The Second Party (i.e. North Macedonia) shall not use again in any way and in all its forms the symbol formerly displayed on its former national flag. Within six months of the entry into force of this Agreement, the Second Party shall proceed to the removal of the symbol displayed on its former national flag from all public sites and public usages on its territory. Archaeological artefacts do not fall within the scope of this provision.
Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Prespa Agreement
Toni Deskoski, Macedonian professor of International Law, argues that the Vergina Sun is not a Macedonian symbol but a Greek symbol that is used by ethnic Macedonians in the nationalist context of Macedonian nationalism and that the ethnic Macedonians need to get rid of it.[13]
Current flag (1995–present)
In 1995, the Macedonian government appointed
Design
The flag ratio is 1:2 (height/width), with two colours:
System | Red | Yellow |
---|---|---|
RGB | 206-32-40[16] | 249-214-22[16] |
Hexadecimal format | #CE2028[16] | #F9D616[16] |
CMYK |
0-68-65-19 | 0-14-89-2 |
Pantone (approximate) | 1795 C | 115 C |
See also
- Flags of North Macedonia
- Emblem of North Macedonia
- Flag of Macedonia (Greece)
Footnotes
- ^ Македонски Хералд број 5
- ISBN 9780313344992.
- ^ "Глобус". globusmagazin.com.mk. Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "My Info Agent" (PDF). mia.com.mk. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Barraclough, E.M.C. and Crampton, William G. (eds). Flags of the World, p. 148. F. Warne, 1978.
- ^ ISBN 9781317049364.
- ^ "Државниот грб ќе се смени, за знамето не се разговарало". Meta.mk (in Macedonian). 13 December 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ISBN 978-0199572908.
From the late 1970s onwards, and as the dispute over Macedonia intensified, this motif became extremely popular, almost to the point of becoming an unofficial national crest and symbol, in both Greece and the Yugoslav Republic. Countless commercial adverts, logos, shopfronts, T-shirts, pins, medals, and posters, were carrying it, along with its official endorsement in a 100-drachma Greek coin with the head of Alexander on one face and the 'sun' on the other, on postage stamps, and on official campaign posters distributed throughout Greece and abroad.
- ^ "Greece petitions for int'l rights to Vergina Star" Archived 2006-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, ANA, 31 July 1995. See also WIPO registrations: 1, 2, 3.
- ^ Wood, Michael C., Participation of Former Yugoslav States in the United Nations and Multilateral Treaties, "Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law" Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, Vol. 1, 1997, p. 240.
- ^ "Announcement of the Inter-ministerial working group for fulfilment of the obligations stipulated in the Final Agreement for the Settlement of the Differences as Described in the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993)". www.vlada.mk. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
- ^ Newsroom (2019-08-12). "Βόρεια Μακεδονία: Τέλος από σήμερα στη χρήση του Ήλιου της Βεργίνας". CNN.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ^ Deskoski: Vergina Sun flag is not Macedonian, we need to get rid of this Greek symbol, Republica.mk: "The Vergina Sun flag was a national flag for only three years and that was one of the biggest mistakes. Neither the Ilinden fighters nor the partisans in the National Liberation War knew that symbol. That flag is the biggest hoax of Macedonianism. We need to unanimously reject and get rid of this Greek symbol. Let the Greeks glorify their symbols."
- ^ "Coat of Arms to change, flag not discussed". Meta.mk. 13 December 2014.
- ISBN 9781538119624.
- ^ a b c d "Flag of the Republic of Macedonia | Macedonian Heraldric Society". heraldika.org.mk. 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
- ^ Construction sheet of the Flag of the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian Heraldry Society)