The flag of Yugoslavia / ; sl, zastava Jugoslavije; mk, знаме на Југославија, translit=zname na Jugoslavija was the official flag of the

Yugoslav state Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

from 1918 to 1992. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from the

Pan-Slavic movement Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...

, which ultimately led to the unification of the South Slavs and the creation of a united south-Slavic state in 1918. The flag had three equal horizontal bands of blue, white, and red and was first used by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1943. A

red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

was added in its center by the victorious Yugoslav Partisans in World War II and this design was used until the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

in the early 1990s, whereupon the red star was removed. This version was used until the dissolution of

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

in 2006. Today, the flag still holds meaning to those nostalgic for Yugoslavia.

Design and symbolism

The flag of Yugoslavia is a horizontal

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 ...

of blue (top), white (middle) and red (bottom). The design and colours are based on the Pan-Slavic flag adopted at the Pan-Slavic Congress of 1848, in Prague. Following the end of the First World War in 1918, the

Southern Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

united into a single unitary state of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known as Yugoslavia. The monarchy selected the pan-Slavic design to symbolise the new founded unity of all Southern Slavs. The design consisted of a simple horizontal

with three equal bands of blue (top), white (middle) and red (bottom). Following the end of the Second World War and the abolition of the monarchy in 1945, the new Communist government retained the design of the flag but added a

with yellow border in the centre. This flag remained in use until the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia in 1992, after which the new union of

removed the red star and retained a plain tricolour flag until their dissolution in 2006.

Flags of the Yugoslav Republics

Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

socialist republic, consisting of six sub-level republics. Each republic had its own flag and emblem. Most of the flags were based on the old historical flags of the respective Yugoslav states, except the flag of the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and

SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...

which only gained statehood after World War II. SR Croatia,

SR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

, SR Serbia, and

SR Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...

all used the

pan-Slavic colors The pan-Slavic colours (or colors) — red, blue and white — were defined by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848, based on the flag of Russia, which was introduced in the late 17th century. The tricolor flag of Russia was itself inspired by the ...

, red, white and blue, in the particular way in which there were already traditional for in the respective countries. They were all embellished by a

communist symbol Communist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity. Communist states, parties and movements use these symbols to advance and create solidarity within ...

, the

. This standardization meant that

and SR Serbia had identical flags, as they continued the use of the tricolours of the Kingdom of Montenegro and the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

respectively. As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, because of its

multiethnic A multinational state or a multinational union is a sovereign entity that comprises two or more nations or states. This contrasts with a nation state, where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the population. Depending on the definition of " ...

character, its flag consisted of a

red flag Red flag may refer to: * Red flag (idiom), a metaphor for something signalling a problem ** Red flag warning, a term used by meteorologists ** Red flag (battle ensign), maritime flag signaling an intention to give battle with no quarter (fight to ...

but with a small SFR Yugoslav flag in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

. The red and yellow of the flag of

reflected the colours of the traditional coat of arms with a lion of the region.

History

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The national flag of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia was blue-white-red in the horizontal sense against a vertical staff. The common national civil flag was the same as the historic Pan-Slavic flag approved at the Pan-Slavic Congress in Prague, 1848. The naval ensign (war flag) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is blue-white-red with the simplified lesser coat of arms: ''On one third of the ensign length there shall be the state coat of arms with the crown. The height of the arms and crown (without the globe and cross) shall be half of the ensign height.'' The flags of the Kingdom were in official use from 1922 until the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied by Axis powers in 1941. After that, the flag was used by the officially recognized government in exile, diplomatic representatives, and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

until 1945. During the Second World War, Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland (also known as

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

) continued to use the flag. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established on December 1, 1918 and was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on October 3, 1929. The state's first flag was officially adopted in 1922. All Yugoslav flags (including the first ones) were variations on the Pan-Slavic flag adopted at the Pan-Slavic Congress in Prague in 1848. The Pan-Slavic flag was a plain blue-white-red tricolor in the horizontal sense against a vertical staff, and the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

and

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and state ensign during the 1918–1943 period (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was exactly the same. The naval ensign during the period was the blue-white-red tricolor with the simplified lesser coat of arms of Yugoslavia. The Corfu Declaration mentions that individual Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian national flags and coats of arms are equal and can be displayed and used freely on all occasions.

Banovina of Croatia

In response to demands by Croat politicians for autonomy of Croatia, an autonomous region of Croatia was created within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the

Banovina of Croatia The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Banovina Hrvatska, Бановина Хрватска) was an autonomous province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1941. It was formed by a merg ...

. It used the Croatian red-white-blue tricolour for its civil flag, and its state flag included the tricolour charged with the Croatian ''

šahovnica The Croatian checkerboard or chequy ( hr, šahovnica, ) is the national symbol of Croatia and Croats, it covers the main shield of Croatian coat of arms above which is the crown with five smaller shields. Squares are always arranged correctly and ...

''. File:Civil Flag of Banovina of Croatia.svg, Civil flag of the Banovina of Croatia . File:Flag of Banate of Croatia (1939-1941).svg, State flag of the Banovina of Croatia .

World War II

In 1941 during World War II Yugoslavia was invaded and occupied by the Axis powers, and the Yugoslav government fled into exile in London. Soon afterward, the Yugoslav resistance, the Partisans, was formed. The Partisans did not support the Yugoslav government-in-exile and initially used a number of different flags until finally one was universally adopted. The new flag was the Yugoslav blue-white-red tricolor with a

occupying the center of the white field, and with the dimensions altered to 1:2 instead of 2:3. The Partisans were recognized by the

in late November 1943 ( Tehran Conference) and the name of the Yugoslav state was altered to Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (DFY). The old flag continued to be used by the government-in-exile (up until its merge with the Partisan government, the NKOJ in 1944), by its diplomatic representatives, and by the western Allies until 1945 - while in Yugoslavia, the version with the red star was primarily in use.

Socialist Yugoslavia

After the war, in 1945, the red star flag became universally official. It was given its final shape by enlarging the star and adding a narrow yellow border. The flag was usually accompanied on official buildings by the flag of the federal republic and the flag of the

League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

. Because of this, many buildings in former Yugoslavia still carry a three-poled flag holder. A smaller version of the flag served as the civil ensign while an elongated banner version was seen flown in front of the Yugoslav parliament.

Construction details

Chapter 1, Article 4 of the

1946 Yugoslav Constitution The 1946 Yugoslav Constitution, officially titled as the Constitution of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia ( sr, Устав Федеративне Народне Републике Југославије; hr, Ustav Federativne Narodne ...

laid out the specifications for the SFRY flag. The ratio was set at 1:2 and it consisted of a flag that has blue, white and red horizontal stripes that are of equal width. In the middle of the flag is a red star that has a border of golden-yellow. The red star is placed in the center of the flag where the intersections of the corners meet. In the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

constitutions, the specifications and design of the flag did not change. Other sources state that the red star is placed in a circle that has a diameter of of the flag's hoist (width). The size of the golden-yellow border was not defined in the 1946 Constitution.

Notes and references

External links

Yugoslavia
at

Flags of the World This gallery of sovereign state flags shows the national or state flags of sovereign states that appear on the list of sovereign states. For other flags, please see flags of active autonomist and secessionist movements, flags of extinct states a ...

The Flags and Arms of the Modern Era - Yugoslavia (1941–1991)
{{Yugoslavia topics Flags of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 1918 establishments in Yugoslavia 1992 disestablishments in Yugoslavia