The national flag of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the

Kingdom of Libya The Kingdom of Libya ( ar, المملكة الليبية, lit=Libyan Kingdom, translit=Al-Mamlakah Al-Lībiyya; it, Regno di Libia), known as the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963, was a constitutional monarchy in North Africa which ca ...

. It was designed by

Omar Faiek Shennib Sir Omar Faiek Shennib (Omar Fayek Shennib, Omar Shannib, Omar Shannaib) ( ar, عمر فائق شنيب) was Libyan Minister of Defence, Chief of the Royal Diwan, Vice President of the Libyan National Assembly under the reign of King Idris Al Se ...

and approved by King Idris Al Senussi who comprised the UN delegation representing the three regions of

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ber, ⴼⵣⵣⴰⵏ, Fezzan; ar, فزان, Fizzān; la, Phazania) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ...

, and

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

at UN unification discussions. The flag fell out of use in 1969, but was subsequently adopted by the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

on August 3, 2011. The flag consists of a triband red-black-green design, the central black band being twice the width of the outer bands. A white star and crescent is located in the center of the flag.

History

The first Libyan flag design was based on the banner of the Senussi dynasty from

, which consisted of a black field and star and crescent design, and was later used as the flag of the region.

, Chief of the Royal Diwans, Vice President of the National Assembly and Minister of Defense under King Idris Al Senussi is credited in the memoirs of

Adrian Pelt Adriaan Pelt (8 May 1892, in Koog aan de Zaan – 11 April 1981, in Hermance near Geneva, Switzerland) was a Dutch journalist, international civil servant and diplomat, most famous for drafting the post war constitution of Libya. As a reporte ...

, UN commissioner for Libya (1949 to 1951) for the design of the original flag of Libya. According to Pelt: "during deliberations of the Libyan National Constitutional Convention, a paper drawing of a proposed national flag was presented to the convention by

istinguished member of the delegation from Cyrenaica The design was composed of three colors; red, black and green, with a white Crescent and Star centered in the middle black stripe. Mr. Shennib informed the delegates that this design had met the approval of His Highness Emir of Cyrenaica, King Idris Al Senussi ater to become King of Libya The assembly subsequently approved that design." This flag represented Libya from its independence in 1951 until the

1969 Libyan coup d'état The 1969 Libyan coup d'état, also known as the al-Fateh Revolution or the 1 September Revolution, was carried out by the Free Unionist Officers Movement, a group of military officers led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, which led to the overthrow of ...

. The symbolism of the star and crescent in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya was explained in an English language booklet, ''The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem'', issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown) as follows: "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the Muslim calendar. It brings back to our minds the story of

Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

igrationof our Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness." Flag of Libya (without crescent and star)

Flag of Libya (without crescent and star)

In 2011, interviews with Ibtisam Shennib and Amal Omar Shennib, Omar Faeik Shennib's only two remaining children, were cited as confirming Pelt's account of the origin of the flag. Ibtisam Shennib recalled the morning her father brought a draft of the flag to the breakfast table and showed it to her and her siblings, explaining the original intent behind the selection of the flag's colours and symbols. According to Omar Faiek Shennib, "red was selected for the blood sacrificed for the freedom of Libya, black to remember the dark days that Libyans lived under the occupation of the Italians and green to represent its primary wealth, agriculture, ibya once being referred to as the 'agricultural basket' or 'breadbasket' of the Ottoman Empire] and the future prosperity of the country. The star and crescent were placed within the black central strip of the flag as a reference to the Senussi flag and the role of King Idris in leading the country to independence". The flag's colours also echo the colours of the flags of the three regions of Libya:

(red),

(black), and

(green). Under Muammar Gaddafi's

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

, Libya had a red-white-black flag from 1969 to 1977, and it was replaced by the all-green flag from 1977 to 2011, during which it was the only flag in the world to have one color and no design. During the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, the 1951–69 flag – as well as various makeshift versions without the crescent and star symbol, or without the green stripe – came back into use in areas held by the

Libyan opposition The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organized and armed militia groups, participants in the Libyan Civil ...

and by protesters at several Libyan diplomatic missions abroad..Libya's monarchist flag: a symbol of anti-Gathafi protest
. Middle East Online. Retrieved 27 May 2011. The

, formed on 27 February 2011, adopted the flag previously used in the Kingdom of Libya between 1951 and 1969 as the "emblem of the Libyan Republic". The flag was officially defined in article three of the Libyan Draft Constitutional Charter for the Transitional Stage:

The national flag shall have the following shape and dimensions: Its length shall be double its width, its shall be divided into three parallel coloured stripes, the uppermost being red, the centre black and lowest green, the black stripe shall be equal in area to the other two stripes together and shall bear in its centre a white crescent, between the two extremities of which there shall be a five-pointed white star.

On 10 March 2011, France was the first country to recognise the council as the official government of Libya, as well as the first to allow the Libyan embassy staff to raise the flag. On 21 March, the flag was flown by the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations and appeared on their official website, and thereafter in late August by the Arab League and by Libya's own telecommunications authority, the Libya Telecom & Technology, on its own website. In the following months many other Libyan embassies replaced the green flag of Gaddafi with the tricolour flag. This original flag of Libya is now the only flag used by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

to represent Libya, according to the following UN statement: "Following the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 66/1, the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations formally notified the United Nations of a Declaration by the National Transitional Council of 3 August 2011 changing the official name of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to 'Libya' as well as a decision to change Libya's national flag to the original." All Libyan diplomatic posts, such as

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

and

consulates A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

, use the original flag of Libya.

Legal basis and construction

Libyan Flag Construction Ministry of Information and Guidance 1951

The flag of Libya is described in Article 7 of the Constitution of 7 October 1951. It was officially adopted on 24 December 1951. The passage from the constitution reads: Both the precise shade and legal construction is described in a booklet issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951. nglish translation based on The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem, a booklet issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya, cited after Jos Poels at FOTW, 27 January 1997/ref> The passage reads: Flag of Libya (construction sheet)

Colours scheme

Other flags

File:Flag of the Libyan National Army.svg,

Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa ...

File:Flag of the Libyan Ground Forces.svg,

Libyan Army The Libyan Army ( ar, الجيش الليبي) is the brand for a number of separate military forces in Libya, which are under the command of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Since December 2015 the groups of t ...

File:Flag of the Libyan Navy.svg,

Libyan Navy Libyan Navy ( ar, قوات البحرية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan military responsible for naval warfare. Established in November 1962, Libyan Navy has been headed by Admiral Mansour Bader, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval F ...

File:Flag of the Libyan Air Force.svg,

Libyan Air Force The Libyan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,00 ...

File:Flag of the Libyan Air Defense Forces.svg, Libyan Air Defense Forces File:Flag of The Libyan National Army (Variant).svg, Libyan National Army (Variant)

Historical flags

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Libya

National symbols of Libya