National Flag of South Africa

The National flag of the Republic of South Africa is a symbol of the change to a democratic society. It was inaugurated on 27 April 1994, the day of the first general election in South Africa in which all South Africans took part. For many, it represents the pride of a unified nation, a symbol of the new era in South African history.

A changing South Africa, a new national flag

With the changing political circumstances in South Africa in the early nineties, the need for a new national flag was recognised. A nationwide competition was held in 1993 in which the public could submit proposals for a new national flag. More than 7000 proposals was received by the National Symbols Committee, of which six was selected as possible candidates. A number of design studios were also asked to submit designs.

The proposals were submitted to the Negotiating Council (a body responsible for the transition to a democratic South Africa) but none found widespread support. In February 1994, Roelf Meyer and Cyril Ramaphosa were tasked to address the flag issue. Frederick Brownell, the former state Herald of South Africa designed a flag that was met with more enthusiasm. The final design was adopted on 15 March 1994 and proclaimed on 20 April 2004, only seven days before it as to be inaugurated on 27 April 1994.

The flag was originally intended to be introduced on a probationary period of five years, but was met with widespread public support and consequently made the national flag of the Republic of South Africa.

Design

The flag is rectangular with a ratio of 2:3, the same ratio as the previous flags of the country. It is the only national flag with six colours (black, gold, green, white, chilli red and blue) that is without a seal or brocade. The colours themselves have no specific meaning or symbolism as per the original design criteria. However, many South Africans view the different colours as a symbol of the Rainbow Nation, representing the multitude of different cultures and peoples in South Africa.

The heraldic definition of the flag, given in Schedule One of the Constitution of South Africa (1996) describe the flag as follows:

The national flag is rectangular; it is one and a half times longer than it is wide.

1. It is black, gold, green, white, chilli red and blue.
2. It has a green Y-shaped band that is one fifth as wide as the flag. The centre lines of the band start in the top and bottom corners next to the flag post, converge in the centre of the flag, and continue horizontally to the middle of the free edge.
3. The green band is edged, above and below in white, and towards the flag post end, in gold. Each edging is one fifteenth as wide as the flag.
4. The triangle next to the flag post is black.
5. The upper horizontal band is chilli red and the lower horizontal band is blue. These bands are each one third as wide as the flag.