The

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

( Chichewa: ''mbendera ya Malaŵi'') was officially adopted on 6 July 1964 when the colony of

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

became independent from British rule and renamed itself Malawi.

Design

The first flag of independent Malawi was adopted on 6 July 1964. A rising sun against a black field is also present in the

coat of arms of Malawi The coat of arms of Malawi is based on the earlier heraldic arms of Nyasaland. It is supported by a lion and a leopard, above a scroll reading "Unity and Freedom". A rising sun in a black field, like in the lower field in the shield, is also prese ...

and in the flag it officially represents the dawn of hope and freedom for the continent of Africa (when the flag was created, more countries in Africa were gaining independence from European rule). The 31 rays of the sun represent the fact that Malawi was the 31st African nation at the time of its independence. The black represents the indigenous people of the continent, the red symbolises the blood of their struggle, and the green represents nature. The flag resembles the

Pan-African flag The Pan-African flag (also known as the Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag, UNIA flag, and various other names) is a tri-color flag consisting of three equal horizontal bands of (from top down) red, black, and green. The Universal Negr ...

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

Universal Negro Improvement Association The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and Amy Ashwood Garvey. The Pan-Africa ...

, with the red and black bands reversed and a red sun at the top. It also resembles the

of the now-defunct Republic of

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...

and the national

flag of Afghanistan The national flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان بیرغ; prs, پرچم افغانستان), also used as the flag of the Taliban, consists of a white field with a black ''Shahada''. It was adopted on 15 A ...

used from 1973 to 1992.

2010–2012

A new flag of Malawi was adopted on 2010, as proposed by the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

–led government. The stripes were altered from the previous flag to match the original

Pan-African Flag The Pan-African flag (also known as the Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag, UNIA flag, and various other names) is a tri-color flag consisting of three equal horizontal bands of (from top down) red, black, and green. The Universal Negr ...

layout, with the red stripe at the top, the black stripe in middle, and the green stripe at the bottom. The rising sun at the flag's top was replaced with a full, centred white sun with 45 rays representing the " economic progress"

has made since becoming independent (it was actually one of the most unsuccessful in the world after 1990). The opposition United Democratic Front announced that it would challenge the legitimacy of flag change in court. The flag was endorsed by the President of Malawi,

Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika (; born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Demo ...

, who approved the flag change on 29 July 2010. There was much public outcry about whether there was a need to change the flag, but the process continued despite being unwelcome to much of the public. The flag was pejoratively nicknamed "Bingu's flag" by the majority of the nation who saw it as an illegitimate flag. Many objected to the new flag, perceiving its adoption as undemocratic. On 28 May 2012, under new president

Joyce Banda Joyce Hilda Banda (née Ntila; born 12 April 1950) is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the ...

, Parliament voted to revert to the independence flag.

Flag colours

The colours of the flag are defined using British Standard colours; these are the same colours as used on the Kenyan flag:Malawi
at ''Flags of the World''. Accessed 2006.

Gallery

File:Flag of the President of Malawi.svg, Flag of the

President of Malawi The president of the Republic of Malawi ( ny, Mtsogoleri wa Dziko la Malawi) is the head of state and head of government of Malawi. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Malawi and is the commander-in-chief of the Malawia ...

File:Flag of the Governor-General of Malawi (1964-1966).svg, Flag of the

Governor-General of Malawi This is a list of the heads of state of Malawi, from the independence of Malawi in 1964 to the present day. From 1964 to 1966 the head of state under the Constitution of 1964 was the queen of Malawi, Elizabeth II, who was also the queen of the ...

(1964–1966) File:Flag of the Governor of Nyasaland (1914–1925).svg, Flag of the

Governor of Nyasaland List of Colonial Heads of Malawi (Nyasaland) (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office) For continuation after independence, ''see: '' List of heads of state of Malawi References See also *History of Malawi *Governor-Ge ...

(1914–1925) File:Flag of the Governor of Nyasaland (1925–1964).svg, Flag of the Governor of Nyasaland (1925–1964) File:Flag of the Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963).svg, Flag of the

Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (also known as the Central African Federation) served as the representative of the British monarch in the country. The federation was formed on 1 August 1953 from the former coloni ...

(1953–1963) File:Flag of British Central Africa Protectorate.svg, Flag of

British Central Africa Protectorate The British Central Africa Protectorate (BCA) was a British protectorate proclaimed in 1889 and ratified in 1891 that occupied the same area as present-day Malawi: it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. British interest in the area arose from vis ...

(1893–1914) File:Flag of Nyasaland (1914–1919).svg, Flag of

(1914–1919) File:Flag of Nyasaland (1919–1925).svg, Flag of

(1919–1925) File:Flag of Nyasaland (1925–1964).svg, Flag of

(1925–1964) File:Flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963).svg, Flag of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

(1953–1963) File:Flag of Malawi.svg, Flag of Malawi (1964–2010 and since 2012) File:Flag of Malawi (2010-2012).svg, "Bingu's Flag" (2010–2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malawi, Flag Of

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags of Africa Flags introduced in 1964 Flags introduced in 2012