Flag of Ghana

Ghana

Use	National flag and state ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	1957 (readopted 1966)
Design	Horizontal tricolour of red, gold, and green, with a black star in the center
Designed by	Theodosia Okoh
Variant flag of Ghana
Use	Civil ensign
Proportion	2:3
Design	A red field with the national flag, fimbriated in black, in the canton

The flag of Ghana was designed by Mrs. Theodosia Okoh to replace the flag of the United Kingdom upon attainment of independence in 1957. It was flown until 1959, and then reinstated in 1966. It consists of the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, in horizontal stripes, with a black five-pointed star in the centre of the gold stripe. The Ghanaian flag was the first African flag after the flag of Ethiopia to feature these colours.

The red represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence, the gold represents the mineral wealth of the country, the green symbolises the country's rich forests and natural wealth, and the black star stands for the lodestar of African freedom. The black star was adopted from the flag of the Black Star Line, a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey that operated from 1919 to 1922., and gives the Ghana national football team their nickname, the Black Stars.

The civil ensign is a red flag with the national flag in a black-fimbriated canton.

Air force ensign and civil air ensign

Naval Ensign of Ghana

The ensign of the Ghana Air Force

The Ghanaian civil air ensign

The Ghana Air Force has its own ensign which incorporates the flag of Ghana. Civil aviation in Ghana is represented by the national civil air ensign. It is a standard light blue field with the Ghanaian flag in the canton. It is charged in the fly with either a red, yellow and green roundel (in the case of the military ensign) or black five-pointed star (in the case of the civil ensign). they have both been used since independence, and the subsequent founding of the Ghana Air Force in 1959.

History

Flag of the British colony of the Gold Coast, prior to independence

Flag of the Union of African States (1959-1962)

National flag, 1964-1966. Flag ratio: 2:3

The flag adopted in 1957 was flown until 1959, when Ghana joined with Guinea to form the Union of African States. The flag of the Union was modelled on Ghana's flag, but with two black stars, representing the two nations. In May, 1959, Mali joined the union, and it was later decided to add a third star to represent it. Nowhere specified how the stars were arranged, and it was possible that they were arranged in a triangle, although the three-in-a-line formation (as shown here) is more likely.

From 1964-66 the Union became unstable and Ghana adopted a green, white and red tricolor, similar to the flag of Hungary but with a central black star. The original 1957 flag was reinstated in 1966.

External links

• Ghana at Flags of the World