Flag of Ethiopia

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Image:Flag of Ethiopia (1975-1987, 1991-1996).svg

Image:Ethiopia 1987-1991.png

The Flag of Ethiopia was adopted on February 6, 1996.

The colours of African unity - red, green, yellow - are seen here on one of the oldest African flags. These colors were used for the national flag of Ethiopia in 1897, a year after Ethiopia decisively defended itself from colonial Italy at the Battle of Adwa. The flag's tri-colour scheme has existed since the early 19th c. and was previously the official banner of the Ethiopian Empire's Solomonic dynasty. The royal flag often featured the emblem of a Lion of Judah, a crowned lion carrying a cross centered in the banner's yellow mid-section. The flag is understood to be a link between the Ethiopian church, the peoples, and the nation were united in the one flag. Whilst red is currently featured at the bottom of the horizontal tricolour this was reversed in the mid 19th century and the emblem was added in 1996. What the colors symbolize varies depending on point of view, but generally: red represents power or African blood spilled in defense of the land; yellow for peace and harmony between Ethiopia's various ethnic and religious groups; green is almost always said to symbolize the land and its fertility. Other African nations, upon their independence from their colonial rulers so often adopted these three colours that they are known as the Pan-African colors.

Prior to 1996, and to some extent even today, the 'plain' flag was commonly seen across the nation and the world. Previously, especially during the Derg regime, a number of different emblems were experimented with, however, the basic color schematic has remained constant. Even the oppressive Derg did not dare to tamper with the colors' layout, but simply removed and changed the imperial emblem after Haile Selassie's overthrow. An alternative coat of arms featuring a five pointed star and rays over a cogwheel surrounded by a wreath of leaves is now the featured emblem.

The star, which is a pentagram, is yellow on a blue disc, which overlaps the green and red stripes. The star testifies to Ethiopia's bright future and possibly echoes the connection with the House of King Solomon, while the yellow rays which it emits are equidistant and are said to represent the equality of all Ethiopians regardless of race, creed, or gender.

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