The flag of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

( rw, ibendera ry'Urwanda, french: Drapeau du Rwanda) was adopted on 25 October 2001.

Details

The flag has three

colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

s: blue, yellow, and green, The light blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The yellow sun represents enlightenment. The flag represents national unity, respect for work, heroism, and confidence in the future. According to the state's official rationale, the flag was adopted (along with a new national anthem at the time) to avoid connotations to the

1994 genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

which it stated the previous one embodied. However, some Rwandans at the time expressed doubts about the reasoning and viewed it as an attempt by the ruling

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winn ...

to express its political power by changing state symbols. The flag was designed by Alphonse Kirimobenecyo. When hung vertically, the flag should be displayed as the horizontal version rotated clockwise 90 degrees.

Previous flag

Rwanda's previous flag was a red-yellow-green

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

with a large black letter " R" (to distinguish it from the otherwise identical

flag of Guinea The national flag, national flag of Guinea (french: drapeau de la Guinée) was adopted on 10 November 1958, with the publication of the country's first Constitution of Guinea, Constitution. Design The colors of the flag were adapted from thos ...

, 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 ostensibly became associated with the brutality of the

. However, some Rwandans at the time expressed doubts about the stated reasoning and merely viewed all this as an attempt by the ruling

to assert its political power by changing established state symbols.

Gallery

Flag of the German East Africa Company.svg, Flag of the German East Africa Company, flown by early German colonial entrepreneurs in the East African region Reichskolonialflagge.svg , Flag of

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

, the collective flag of all German colonies. Flag of Deutsch-Ostafrika.svg , Proposed flag of

which was never used due to the flag being proposed shortly before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and Germany's colonies being taken by other European powers after the war Flag of Belgium.svg,

Flag of Belgium The national flag of Belgium ( nl, vlag van België, french: drapeau de la Belgique, german: Flagge Belgiens) is a tricolour consisting of three equal vertical bands displaying the national colours of Belgium: black, yellow, and red. The colours ...

, used by

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under militar ...

(the predecessor to Rwanda) Flag of Rwanda (1959-1961).svg, Flag used after the coup of Gitarama (1961) by the republican government during the last year of the

Kingdom of Rwanda The Kingdom of Rwanda was a kingdom in East Africa which grew to be ruled by a Tutsi monarchy. It was later annexed under German and Belgian colonial rule while retaining some of its autonomy. The Tutsi monarchy was abolished in 1961 after et ...

Flag of Rwanda (1962-2001).svg, Flag of Rwanda (September 25, 1961 – October 24, 2001), changed in 2001. The official reason given was to avoid negative connotations associated with the

, although this is disputed by some.

References

External links

* {{National flags

National symbols of Rwanda