The flag of Mozambique is the national flag of the

Republic of Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

that was adopted on 1 May 1983. It is a tricolor flag with white fimbriations and a red triangle.

Teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...

stands for the riches of the land, the white fimbriations signify peace, black represents the African continent, yellow symbolises the country's minerals, and red represents the struggle for independence. It includes the image of a

Kalashnikov rifle A Kalashnikov (Калашников) rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomát Kaláshnikova" ( rus, Автома́т Кала́шник� ...

with a bayonet attached to the barrel crossed by a hoe, superimposed on an open book. The rifle stands for defence and vigilance, the open book symbolises the importance of education, the hoe represents the country's agriculture, and the star symbolizes the spirit of the international solidarity of the Mozambican people. It is one of four national flags among

UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...

that feature a firearm, along with those of

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, but is the only one of the four to feature a modern firearm instead of cannons or muskets.

History

The flag is based on the flag of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the leading

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The FRELIMO flag, used for a brief period after the country gained its independence from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, looks like the current flag but lacking the emblem, with green, black, and yellow horizontal stripes separated by white fimbriations and a red

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...

in the hoist. On independence the colours were rearranged to form the national flag, in diagonals emanating from the upper hoist. Over this was a white cogwheel containing the hoe, rifle, book, and star that appear on the present flag. The flag was altered in 1983; the colours were arranged in horizontal stripes, and the star was made larger. Later in the same year the cogwheel was removed, leading to the current form of the flag.

2005 new flag proposal

In 2005, a competition was held to design a new flag for Mozambique. This came in the context of a drive to create a new crest and anthem for the country.

RENAMO RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppose ...

, Mozambique's parliamentary opposition, specifically wanted to see two symbols removed from the flag: the star, which they saw as representative of the country's communist past; and the

Kalashnikov assault rifle A Kalashnikov (Калашников) rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomát Kaláshnikova" ( rus, Автома́т Кала́шник� ...

, which they argued is incompatible with a country trying to be peaceful after the

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's firs ...

, the ruling party, argued that the star's resemblance to the communist symbol was coincidental, and that the rifle represented the nation's struggle for independence. 169 entries were received and a winning flag was selected, but was rejected by the FRELIMO-led parliament in December 2005. All 169 proposed flags were turned down, including the current flag without the rifle.

Gallery

Presidential standards

File:Presidential Standard of Mozambique (1975-1982).svg, Presidential Standard of the

People's Republic of Mozambique The People's Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: ''República Popular de Moçambique'') was a socialist state that existed in present day Mozambique from 1975 to 1990. The People's Republic of Mozambique was established when the country gained ...

from 1975 to 1982. File:Presidential Standard of Mozambique (1982-1990).svg, Presidential Standard of the People's Republic of Mozambique from 1982 to 1990. File:Presidential Standard of Mozambique.svg, Presidential Standard of the Republic of Mozambique since 1990.

Historical flags

File:Flag of Portugal.svg, Last flag of

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colony. Portuguese Moz ...

. File:Flag of Portuguese East Africa (proposal).svg, Proposed flag of Portuguese Mozambique. File:Flag of Mozambique (1974–1975).svg, Flag of Mozambique between 5 September 1974 – 25 June 1975. File:Flag of Mozambique (1975–1983).svg, Flag of Mozambique between 25 June 1975 – April 1983. File:Flag of Mozambique (1983).svg, Flag of Mozambique between April 1983 – 1 May 1983.

Regional flags

File:Flag of Maputo.png, Flag of

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Mozambique

National symbols of Mozambique