Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	3:4
Adopted	January 1, 2007
Design	Sky blue flag, adorned with a yellow star in the upper left canton and cut diagonally by a red stripe with a thin yellow frame.

The flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was adopted on 20 February 2006. A new constitution, ratified in December 2005 and which came into effect in February 2006, promulgated a return to a flag similar to that flown between 1963 and 1971, with a change from a more royal blue to sky blue, which represents peace. Red stands for "the blood of the country's martyrs, yellow the country's wealth; and the star a radiant future for the country."

Previous flags

The previous flag was adopted in 1997. It is similar to the flag used between 1960 and 1963. Originally, the stars on the left represented the six provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but this is no longer appropriate, as the Congo now consists of ten independent provinces and one independent city (Kinshasa). The flag is based on the flag which was originally used by King Leopold's Association Internationale Africaine (which was supposedly a humanitarian organization, but functioned mainly as a front for Leopold's exploitive economic interests in the Congo) and was first hoisted in 1877. The original design for the flag was allegedly created by the famed explorer Henry Morton Stanley and the layout consists of a blue background with a five-pointed gold star centered on it, with the star supposedly being symbolic of the "light of civilization" now shining brightly in darkest Africa. The same design was then implemented as the flag of the Congo Free State after the territory was recognized as an official possession of Leopold II at the Berlin Conference.

After gaining independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960, the same basic design was maintained, however, six stars were incorporated to symbolise the six provinces of the country at the time. This design was used only from 1960 to 1963.

The flag of the Second Republic of Mobutu Sese Seko became the official banner after Mobutu established his dictatorship. This flag was used from 1966-1971 and consisted of the same yellow star, now made smaller, situated in the top corner of the hoist side, with a red, yellow-lined band running diagonally across the center. The red symbolized the people's blood; the yellow symbolized prosperity; the blue symbolized hope; and the star represented unity.

This flag was changed upon the renaming of the country to Zaire in 1971. The Zaire flag (also below) was created as part of Mobutu's attempted re-Africanization of the nation and was used officially until Mobutu's overthrow in 1997.

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  Flag of Association Internationale Africaine as well as the Congo Free State (1877-1908) and the Belgian Congo (1908-1960)

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  1960-1963 independence flag

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  1963-1966 flag

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  1966-1971 flag

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  Flag of Zaire (1971-1997)

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  1997-2003 flag

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  2003-2006 flag

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  Flag since 2006.

Notes

af:Vlag van die Demokratiese Republiek van die Kongo ar:علم جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية ast:Bandera de la República Democrática d'El Congu be:Сцяг Дэмакратычнай Рэспублікі Конга be-x-old:Сьцяг Дэмакратычнай Рэспублікі Конга bs:Zastava Demokratske Republike Kongo bg:Национално знаме на Демократична република Конго ca:Bandera de la República Democràtica del Congo cs:Vlajka Demokratické republiky Kongo da:Demokratiske Republik Congos flag de:Flagge der Demokratischen Republik Kongo et:Kongo Demokraatliku Vabariigi lipp el:Σημαία της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας του Κονγκό es:Bandera de la República Democrática del Congo eo:Flago de Kongo Kinŝasa fa:پرچم جمهوری دموکراتیک کنگو fr:Drapeau de la République démocratique du Congo gl:Bandeira da República Democrática do Congo - République Démocratique du Congo ko:콩고 민주 공화국의 국기 hi:कांगो जनतांत्रिक गणराज्य का ध्वज hr:Zastava Demokratske Republike Kongo bpy:গনতান্ত্রিক কঙ্গো প্রজাতন্ত্রর ফিরালহান id:Bendera Republik Demokratik Kongo it:Bandiera della Repubblica Democratica del Congo he:דגל הרפובליקה הדמוקרטית של קונגו sw:Bendera ya Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo kg:Dalapo ya Repubilika ya Kongo Demokratiki lv:Kongo Demokrātiskās Republikas karogs lt:Kongo Demokratinės Respublikos vėliava ln:Bɛndɛ́lɛ ya Kongó-Kinsásá hu:A Kongói Demokratikus Köztársaság zászlaja mk:Знаме на Демократската Република Конго nl:Vlag van Congo-Kinshasa ja:コンゴ民主共和国の国旗 no:Den demokratiske republikken Kongos flagg pl:Flaga Demokratycznej Republiki Konga pt:Bandeira da República Democrática do Congo ro:Drapelul Republicii Democratice a Congoului ru:Флаг Демократической Республики Конго sk:Vlajka Konga (býv. Zairu) sr:Застава Демократске Републике Конго sh:Zastava Demokratske Republike Kongo fi:Kongon demokraattisen tasavallan lippu sv:Kongo-Kinshasas flagga th:ธงชาติสาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยคองโก uk:Прапор Демократичної Республіки Конго yo:Àsìá ilẹ̀ Orílẹ̀-èdè Olómìnira Tòṣèlúaráìlú ilẹ̀ Kóngò zh:刚果民主共和国国旗