Flag of the Socialist Republic of Romania

On 30 December 1947, Romania was proclaimed a people's republic and all the kingdom's symbols were outlawed, including the coats of arms and the tricolor flags that showed them. On 8 January 1948, Decree nr. 3 was issued, regarding specifications for the powers of the Presidium of the Romanian People's Republic.[1] At article 7, this provided that the republic's new coat of arms should be “composed of: a tractor, a group of three chimneys against the field of a rising sun, surrounded by bound ears of wheat, tied by a ribbon with the inscription Republica Populară Română and the initials R. P. R. at the end of the ears”. Article 8 dealt with the national flag: “the colors of the Romanian People’s Republic are: blue, yellow and red, arranged vertically, and having in the center of the yellow field the Coat of Arms of the Republic”.

According to article 101 of the 1948 Constitution, “The flag of the Romanian People’s Republic is composed of the colors: blue, yellow and red, arranged vertically. In the middle is placed the national coat of arms”.[2] The 1952 Constitution, at article 103, added a little detail: “The flag of the Romanian People’s Republic has the colors red, yellow and blue, arranged vertically with blue near the lance. In the middle is placed the coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic”.[3] Neither the colors’ shades nor the flag's proportions were specified. According to provisions of the 1952 Constitution, a five-pointed red star appeared at the upper edge of the coat of arms (itself altered in March 1948), something that was also reflected on flags and official Romanian standards.

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  File:Flag_of_Romania_(January-March_1948).svgRPR flag from January to March 1948.
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  File:Flag_of_Romania_(1948-1952).svgRPR flag from 1948 to 1952.
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  File:Flag_of_Romania_(1952-1965).svgRPR flag from 1952 to 1965.
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  File:Lešany,_Vojenské_muzeum,_ARO_(Rumunsko)_II.JPGAn ARO IMS with an RPR flag, 1952 design

The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Romania, adopted in 1965, provided the following in article 118: “The flag of the Socialist Republic of Romania has the colors red, yellow and blue, arranged vertically, with blue near the flagpole. The coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania is affixed to the middle”.[4]

Decree nr. 972 of 5 November 1968 regarding the insignia of the Socialist Republic of Romania (RSR)[5] described in detail the coat of arms, seal, flag and state anthem of the republic. The attached commentary noted that, in the absence of corresponding regulations, “there have appeared mistaken interpretations of these [constitutional specifications], incorrect or diverging usages of the state insignia”. Chapter IV of the decree is entirely devoted to describing the flag and the protocol for its use. Thus, the flag is defined as having a ratio of 2:3, with the colored stripes of equal dimensions. The regular colors were printed in the annex and not expressly named. The coat of arms was placed in the center; its height was ​²⁄₅ the flag's width. As before, it was provided that the flag's proportions could differ for ornamental purposes, but the coat of arms must always be in the center, vertical. Articles 13-21 specifically and exhaustively covered flag protocol, describing where it was to be raised permanently and temporarily (art. 13), the protocol for raising it outside the country's borders (art. 14) and during demonstrations by socialist organizations (art. 15), the conditions for lowering it to half-staff (art. 16, 17 and 18, with art. 20 describing exceptions to the rule), the conditions and manner for draping caskets with the flag (art. 19), as well as the place of the Romanian flag in case it flew besides one or more foreign flags (art. 21).

During the revolution at Timișoara beginning on 17 December 1989, the coat of arms of the Romanian Socialist Republic began to be removed from flags, being viewed as a symbol of Nicolae Ceauşescu's dictatorial regime. Most often, this was accomplished by cutting or ripping out the middle of the yellow stripe, giving rise to the term "the flag with the hole".[6]

Decree-Law nr. 2 of 27 December 1989 regarding the membership, organization and functioning of the Council of the National Salvation Front and of the territorial councils of the National Salvation Front[7] provided at article 1, among other matters, that “the national flag is the traditional tricolor of Romania, with the colors laid out vertically, in the following order, starting from the flagpole: blue, yellow, red”.

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  File:Romania_flag_1989_revolution.svgRevolutionary flag with the hole.
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  File:RomanianFlag-withHole.jpgPhotograph of such a flag.
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  File:Empty_Romanian_Flags.jpgFlags with holes at the Military Museum in Bucharest.

The President of the RSR (until 1974 the President of the Council of State) and the prime minister had their own standard, a square Romanian tricolor with a white edge and a red border beyond that; the RSR's coat of arms was in the center, ​²⁄₃ the height of the tricolor's width. The standard was decorated with fringes of golden thread and tassels of the same material. The flag of the Minister of the Armed Forces of the RSR consisted of a white pennant in a 1:2 ratio. The flag of the RSR was placed in the canton, while two red five-pointed stars occupied the fly.

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  File:Flag_of_Chairman_of_Councils_of_State_and_of_Ministers_of_Romania.svgPresident's flag
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  File:Standard_of_the_Minister_of_Defense_of_Romania_(1965-1989).svgFlag of the Minister of Defense
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  File:Standard_of_a_Minister_of_Romania_(1965-1989).svgFlag of the other ministers

On 28 July 1950 the Great National Assembly issued Decree nr. 189 for the establishment of the military colors of the Romanian People's Army, as well as standards for the Military Air Force and the Naval Forces.[8] Article 2 defined the units’ military colors as follows: “three silk stripes colored red, yellow and blue, arranged vertically with blue situated near the flagpole. On the edges the flag has yellow metal fringes of wire, while the fly corners each have a tassel of the same wire. On the side oriented from the flagpole to the right, in the middle, is placed the coat of arms of the R. P. R. in natural colors. Above the coat of arms, on the same side, in an arched line, is written with letters of golden wire: ‘Pentru Patria noastră’ (‘For our Fatherland’). On the other side and in the middle of the flag, the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers of the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. is applied. Under the emblem is written straight, with letters of golden wire, the unit's name. The flagpole ends in an ogive-shaped tip, within which is found a five-pointed star, in the center of which are written the initials RPR”. The law's annex also specified the dimensions of the flag (100 centimeter long by 60 centimeter wide), the coat of arms and the emblem (20 centimeter high), the fringes (5 centimeter long), the flagpole (250 centimeter long) and of the ogive (15 centimeter long by 7 centimeter wide).

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  File:Battle_flag_of_Romania_(1950-1952,_obverse).svg1950 military colors (front)
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  File:Battle_flag_of_Romania_(1950-1965,_reverse).svgback
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  File:Battle_flag_of_Romania_(1952-1965,_obverse).svg1952 military colors (front)

Article 3 described the Air Force ensign: “it is made of sky-blue silk. The ensign is rectangular, with each face having applied to it 18 red silk strips in the form of sunrays. On the edges, the ensign has fringes and tassels the same as on the military colors. In the middle of the face oriented from the flagpole to the right is affixed the coat of arms of the R. P. R., while in the middle of the other face is affixed the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. The coat of arms of the R. P. R., the emblem and the inscriptions are identical to those of the military colors”. The annex specified the dimensions of the ensign and the decorative elements, which were identical to those of the military colors. In the center of the flag, a ray had an angle of 10˚. Also specified was the shade of blue to be used on the flag: “iron blue”.

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  File:Flag_of_Air_Force_of_Romania_(1950-1952,_obverse).svg1950 Air Force flag (front)
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  File:Flag_of_Air_Force_of_Romania_(1950-1965,_reverse).svgand back
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  File:Flag_of_Air_Force_of_Romania_(1952-1965,_obverse).svg1952 Air Force flag (front)

Military colors and standards adopted during the Romanian People's Republic were modified or completely changed by Decree nr. 106 of 24 December 1966 regarding regulations for granting the military colors of units and large units from all military branches, modifying the display protocol for ensigns and pennants of navy and Coast Guard ships, establishing a distinctive emblem and commanders’ emblems for navy and Coast Guard vessels, a jack for navy ships and a distinctive ensign for Coast Guard ships.[9]

Article 4 described the Romanian Navy's ensign thus: “made of two pieces of white and blue silk, rectangular, laid horizontally, the blue one, beneath, having a width of 20 centimeter, while the white one, above, having a width of 40 centimeter. The coat of arms of the R. P. R. is applied to the middle of the white surface on the face oriented from the flagpole to the right, while on the other face, also in the middle of the while surface, the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. is applied. The coat of arms, the emblem, the inscriptions, the fringes and the tassels are the same as those of the military colors”. The annex specified the flag's dimensions (also 100 × 60 centimeter) and those of the coat of arms (also 20 centimeter high), as well as its distance to the edges of the white strip (11 centimeter above and 9 centimeter below). The words “Pentru Patria noastră” (“For our Fatherland”) were found on the white strip above the coat of arms, while “Republica Populară Română” and the unit's name were placed in the middle of the blue strip.

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  File:Flag_of_Naval_Force_of_Romania_(1950-1951,_obverse).svg1950 Navy ensign (front)
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  File:Flag_of_Naval_Force_of_Romania_(1950-1965,_reverse).svgand back
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  File:Flag_of_terrestrial_units_of_the_Naval_Force_of_Romania_(1952-1965,_obverse).svg1952 flag of Navy land units (front)

Decree nr. 190 of 1950, published in the same issue of Buletinul Oficial,[10] established the design of Army soldiers’, officers’ and generals’ emblems. The officers’ emblem was a five-pointed, red-enamelled star 34 centimeter in diameter. In the center were two circles: the first, with a radius of 15 centimeter, was enamelled yellow and touched the star's interior angles, while the second, which had a radius of 11 centimeter, was enamelled blue and in the center had the golden initials “R. P. R.”

The following year, Decree nr. 124 of 20 July 1951 for the modification of art. 4 of Decree nr. 189 altered the Navy's ensign.[11] The new regulation provided for three separate insignia: the flag of Navy land units, the flag of Navy ships and the flag of Coast Guard ships.

The Navy's land units had as their flag “two pieces of silk, colored white and blue, rectangular in shape, laid horizontally, the blue piece below, and the white one above. In the middle of the white area facing from the flagpole to the right is affixed the coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic, in natural colors, while on the other side, also in the middle of the white area, is affixed the symbol worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the Romanian People’s Republic. The coat of arms, emblem, inscriptions, fringes and tassels are the same as those of the military colors described in article 2 [of Decree nr. 189 of 1950]”. According to this decree's annex, the flag's dimensions were 100 × 60 centimeter, the blue strip being 20 centimeter wide and the white 40 centimeter, the coat of arms was 20 centimeter high and it was 11 centimeter away from the top edge of the white strip and 9 centimeter away from the bottom.

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  File:Flag_of_ships_of_the_Naval_Force_of_Romania_(1952-1965).svgNavy battle ships' flag
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  File:Flag_of_Coast_Guard_of_Romania_(1952-1965).svgCoast guard ships' standard
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  File:Flag_of_auxiliary_ships_of_the_Naval_Force_of_Romania_(1954-1965).svgAuxiliary Navy ships' standard

• Flag of Romania
• History of the flags of Romania
• List of flags of Romania
• Emblem of the Socialist Republic of Romania
• Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic