Flag of Lesotho

The current national flag of Lesotho, adopted on the 40th anniversary of Lesotho's independence on 4 October 2006,[1] features a horizontal blue, white, and green tricolour with a black mokorotlo (a Basotho hat) in the center. The design is intended to reflect a state that is both at peace both internally and with its only neighbour South Africa, replacing the old flag design that featured a military emblem of a shield, spear and knobkerrie.[2][3]

Lesotho
Proportion2:3
Adopted4 October 2006
DesignA horizontal triband of blue, white and green; charged with a black mokorotlo (a Basotho hat) centred on the white band.
Variant flag of Lesotho
Adopted1987 to 2006
Variant flag of Lesotho
Adopted1966 to 1987

The symbolism of the colours is:[4]

Colour Meaning
Blue Represents the sky or rain.
White Represents peace. Lesotho has had the ideology of peace since the ages of King Moshoeshoe I.
Green Represents prosperity.

Former flags
Traditional mokorotlo

The first flag of Lesotho was introduced on 4 October 1966, the day of Lesotho's full independence from the United Kingdom. It featured a prominent white mokorotlo. The blue stood for sky and rain, the white for peace, the green for land, and the red for faith.

A new flag, designed by Sergeant Retšelisitsoe Matete,[5] was adopted on 20 January 1987, following a military coup which ousted the Basotho National Party after 20 years in power. A light brown traditional Basotho shield along with an assegai (lance) and knobkierrie (club) replaced the Basotho hat as the primary emblem. The colour scheme and pattern changed as well, with a triangular white field standing for peace. The bottom diagonal contained a blue strip for rain and a green triangle for prosperity.

2006 flag

In 2006, a new flag was chosen from four proposed designs; all of these designs included a brown Basotho hat instead of the shield. This was subsequently changed to a black Basotho hat in order to represent Lesotho as a black nation. The bill changing the flag was approved by the National Assembly on 18 September 2006, with 84 members of parliament voting in favour of it, 18 against it, and two abstaining.[5] It was subsequently approved by the Senate as well.[3]

Historical flags
  • Union Jack served as the flag of Basutoland (1822–1966)
  • Unofficial flag of Basutoland (1951–1966)
  • Flag of the Resident Commissioner of Basutoland (1951–1966)

Royal Standards
  • Royal Standard of Lesotho between 1966–1987.
  • Royal Standard of Lesotho between 1987–2006.
  • Royal Standard of Lesotho between 2006–present.

References
  1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Lesotho
  2. "Lesotho unfurls 'peaceful' flag". BBC News. 2006-10-04.
  3. "Senators give new flag green light". The Lesotho Government Portal. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  4. "Flag Description".
  5. "New National Flag Passed by Parliament" Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, 3rd Quarter 2006, trc.org.ls.
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