A referendum on state symbols was held in the

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

on 31 May 1992. The referendum decided the flag, the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

and the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

. Although the referendum failed due to low turnout, the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

recommended that the red star be removed from the Serbian flag on 21 June.

Background

The referendum was planned since 1991. For the state flag, the choice was to either keep the flag with the red star or to remove it. For the coat of arms, the choice was to keep the Serbian shield with cross and firesteels or to include the bicephalic eagle of the

Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rul ...

. For the anthem, '' Bože pravde'' and ''

Marš na Drinu The ''March to the Drina'' ( sr-Cyr, Марш на Дрину, ) is a Serbian patriotic March (music), march which was composed by Stanislav Binički during World War I. Binički dedicated it to his favourite commander in the Royal Serbian Army, ...

'' were offered. The results showed a majority of voters preferred keeping the red star on the flag, to keep the Serbian shield with firesteels, and choosing Marš na Drinu as the anthem.

Results

Coat of arms

Flag

National anthem

References