National flag
Republic of Mozambique
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Use
| National flag
and
ensign
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Proportion
| 2:3
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Adopted
| 1 May 1983
; 41 years ago
(
1983-05-01
)
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Design
| A horizontal tricolour of
teal
, white-edged black and yellow with the red isosceles triangle based on the
hoist-side
bearing the yellow five-pointed star that bears a
Kalashnikov rifle
with the
bayonet
attached to the barrel crossed by a
farming mattock
superimposed on an open book.
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The
flag of Mozambique
is the national flag of the
Republic of Mozambique
that was adopted on 1 May 1983. It is a
tricolor
flag with white
fimbriations
and a red triangle.
Teal
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
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
that feature a gun, along with those of
Guatemala
,
Haiti
and
Bolivia
, but is the only one of the four to feature a modern firearm instead of cannons or single-shot rifles.
History
[
edit
]
The flag is based on the flag of the
Mozambican Liberation Front
(FRELIMO), the leading
political party
in
Mozambique
. The FRELIMO flag, used for a brief period after the country gained its independence from
Portugal
, looks like the current flag but lacking the emblem, with green, black, and yellow horizontal stripes separated by white fimbriations and a red
triangle
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
[
edit
]
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
, 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
, which they argued is incompatible with a country trying to be peaceful after the
Mozambican Civil War
.
[1]
FRELIMO
, 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.
[1]
[2]
169 entries were received
[1]
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.
[3]
Gallery
[
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]
Presidential standards
[
edit
]
Historical flags
[
edit
]
-
Proposed flag of Portuguese Mozambique
(1932)
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Proposed flag of Portuguese Mozambique
(1965)
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Flag of Portuguese Mozambique
(5 September 1974 ? 25 June 1975)
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Flag of Mozambique
(25 June 1975 ? April 1983)
-
Flag of Mozambique
(April 1983 ? 1 May 1983)
Regional flags
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]
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Sovereign states
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States with limited
recognition
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Dependencies and
other territories
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National flags
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National coats of arms
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