Flag of Rwanda

The flag of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: ibendera ry'Urwanda) was adopted on October 25, 2001.

Flag of Rwanda
UseNational flag
Proportion2:3
Adopted25 October 2001
DesignA horizontal tricolour of blue (double width), yellow and green; charged with a sun-yellow sun in the upper-fly side corner
Designed byAlphonse Kirimobenecyo

Details

The flag has three colours: blue, green and yellow,[1] The blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes economic development, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The yellow sun represents enlightenment.[2]

The new flag represents national unity, respect for work, heroism, and confidence in the future. It was adopted to avoid connotations to the 1994 genocide.[3][4] The flag was designed by Alphonse Kirimobenecyo.[5]

When hung vertically, the flag should be displayed as the horizontal version rotated clockwise 90 degrees.[1]

Previous flag

Rwanda's previous flag was a red-yellow-green tricolour with a large black letter "R" (to distinguish it from the otherwise identical Flag of Guinea, with the "R" standing for Rwanda). Derived from the flag of Ethiopia, the colours green, yellow, and red represented peace, the nation's hope for its development, and the people. The colours were associated with Pan-African colours. The flag was changed because it became associated with the brutality of the 1994 genocide.[3][2]

  • Flag of the German East Africa Company, flown by early German colonial entrepreneurs in the East African region
  • Flag of German East Africa, the collective flag of all German colonies.
  • Proposed flag of German East Africa which was never used due to the flag being proposed shortly before the outbreak of World War I and Germany's colonies being taken by other European powers after the war
  • Flag of Belgium, used by Ruanda-Urundi (the predecessor to Rwanda)
  • Flag of the Kingdom of Rwanda (1959 – September 24, 1961)
  • Flag of Rwanda (September 25, 1961 – October 24, 2001), changed because of the 1994 genocide
  • Flag of the President of Rwanda

References
  1. Flags and Anthems Manual: London 2012 (PDF). London, United Kingdom: London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 2012. p. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-04. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. "Flags of the World: Rwanda". CRW Flags of the World. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  3. Vesperini, Helen (31 December 2001). "Rwanda unveils new flag and anthem". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 November 2003. Retrieved 5 November 2003.
  4. Burnet, Jennie E. (2012-11-19). Genocide Lives in Us: Women, Memory, and Silence in Rwanda. ISBN 9780299286439.
  5. "Flags of Africa — Countries Starting with R". Retrieved 24 March 2014.
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