Malaysia and Uganda Flags, Trafalgar Square

The flag of Uganda ( Ugandan Languages: ''Bendera ya Uganda'') was adopted on 9 October 1962, the date that

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

became independent from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. It consists of six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red (bottom); a white disc is superimposed at the centre and depicts the national symbol, a

grey crowned crane The grey crowned crane (''Balearica regulorum''), also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African crane, Eastern crowned crane, Kavirondo crane, South ...

, facing the hoist's side. During the colonial era the British used a British Blue ensign defaced with the colonial badge, as prescribed in 1865 regulations. Buganda, the largest of the traditional kingdoms in the colony of Uganda, had its own flag. However, in order to avoid appearing to give preference to one region of the colony over any other, the British colonial authorities selected the crane emblem for use on the Blue ensign and other official banners.

History

When the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

ruled the country, a design for flag was proposed. It had vertical stripes of green-blue-green, separated by narrower yellow stripes, and in the centre had the silhouette of a yellow crane. After the party lost the national elections on 25 April 1962 the newly elected

Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; sw, Congress ya Watu wa Uganda) is a political party in Uganda. UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner ...

(UPC) rejected the former design and instead proposed the current design. It was based on the flag of UPC – a tricolour having horizontal strips of red, yellow and black. The British administration gave their approval to this before the country's independence. The flag was designed by C Todd, Professor of Fine Art at Makerere University. He also designed the Uganda Coat of Arms and various ceremonial items, which he registered with the College of Arms, in London.

Symbolism

The three colours are representative of

Native ethnic groups of Africa The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each population generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Sahara ...

(black), Africa's sunshine (yellow), and African brotherhood (red being the colour of blood, through which all Africans are connected). The

is fabled for its gentle nature and was also the military badge of Ugandan soldiers during

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule. The raised leg of the crane symbolises the forward movement of the country.

Other flags

File:Flag of the Uganda Protectorate.svg, Flag of the Uganda Protectorate (1914 – March 1962) File:Standard of the Governor of the Uganda Protectorate.svg, Standard of the Governor of Uganda (1914 – March 1962) File:Flag of Uganda 1962.svg, Unofficial flag (March – October 9, 1962) File:Flag of the President of Uganda.svg, Presidential Standard of Uganda Military flags File:Flag of the Uganda People's Defence Force.svg, Flag of the Uganda People's Defence Force File:Flag of the Uganda People's Defence Air Force.svg, Flag of the Uganda People's Defence Air Force

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uganda, 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

National flags Flags displaying animals