Flag of Gabon#Presidential flags
{{short description|National flag}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = Gabonese Republic
| Article =
| Image = Flag of Gabon.svg
| Alt = Flag of Gabon
| Use =
| Symbol =
| Proportion = 3:4
| Adoption = {{start date and age|1960|8|9|df=yes}}
| Design = A horizontal triband of green, gold and blue
| Designer =
| Image2 = Flag of the President of Gabon.svg
| Imagetext2 = Standard of the president of Gabon
| Alt2 =
| Use2 =
| Symbol2 =
| Proportion2 = 3:4
| Adoption2 = 2016
| Design2 =
| Designer2 =
}}
The flag of Gabon ({{langx|fr|drapeau du Gabon}}) is a tricolour consisting of three horizontal green, yellow, and blue bands. Adopted in 1960 to replace the previous colonial flag containing the French Tricolour at the canton, it has been the flag of the Gabonese Republic since the country gained independence that year. The design of the present flag entailed the removal of the Tricolour and the widening of the yellow stripe at the centre.
History
The French gained control of modern-day Gabon in 1839, when a local chief surrendered the sovereignty of his land to them. The Berlin Conference of 1885 solidified France's claim to the territory through diplomatic recognition,{{cite web|title=History of Gabon|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/gabon/history|access-date=4 September 2014|publisher=Lonely Planet|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724024348/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/gabon/history|url-status=live}} and it later became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910.{{cite news |date=15 January 2014 |title=Gabon profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13376514 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125204218/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13376514 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |access-date=4 September 2014 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC}} Under French colonial rule over Gabon, the authorities forbade the colony from utilizing its own distinctive colonial flag. This was because they were worried that this could increase nationalistic sentiment and lead to calls for independence.{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Flag of Gabon|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355240/flag-of-Gabon|date=19 July 2013|access-date=3 September 2014|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|archive-date=30 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030100556/https://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355240/flag-of-Gabon|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} However, with the rise of the decolonization movement in Africa, the French were obliged to grant limited autonomy to Gabon as a self-governing republic within the French Community. This was granted in 1958 after a referendum was held supporting the proposal.
Gabon – considered "one of the more progressive" of French colonies – swiftly formulated a design for a new flag, which was officially adopted a year later in 1959.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8gcL2PBOVIC&pg=PA92|title=Complete Flags of the World|publisher=Penguin|date=6 January 2009|last=Kindersley Ltd.|first=Dorling|page=92|isbn=9780756654863}} It featured a horizontal tricolour identical to the current flag, but with the yellow stripe at the centre narrower than the green and blue bands surrounding it. The French Tricolour was situated at the canton of the flag, making Gabon the only French autonomous republic to feature this "symbolic link" with France.{{cite news|last=Brooke|first=James|date=23 February 1988|title=Gabon Keeps Strong Links With France|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/23/world/gabon-keeps-strong-links-with-france.html|access-date=16 August 2014|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311145930/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/23/world/gabon-keeps-strong-links-with-france.html|url-status=live}}
On 9 August 1960 – just over a week before Gabon became an independent country on 17 August{{cite encyclopedia|first=Brian|last=Weinstein|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Gabon – French control|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/223148/Gabon/40750/French-control|date=1 May 2014|access-date=12 September 2014|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|archive-date=5 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705230549/https://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/223148/Gabon/40750/French-control|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} – the flag was slightly modified. The change entailed removing the Tricolour at the canton and enlarging the yellow stripe at the centre, thus giving it equal width with the two other bands.
Design
=Symbolism=
The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The yellow alludes to the Equator – which cuts across the country – and also symbolizes the sun.{{cite web|title=Gabon|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gabon/|access-date=3 September 2014|work=The World Factbook|publisher=CIA|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115161003/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gabon/|url-status=live}} The green epitomizes the natural resources of Gabon, as well as its "extensive forested area" that the Gabonese people are economically dependent on in the form of lumber. The blue represents the sea, specifically the South Atlantic Ocean along which the country has an "extensive coast". While Whitney Smith in the Encyclopædia Britannica and Dorling Kindersley's Complete Flags of the World describe the centre band as solely yellow, The World Factbook characterizes it as both yellow and gold.
=Distinctiveness=
The proportions of Gabon's flag are 3:4. This uncommon flag ratio, which is enshrined by Gabonese law, is shared by the flags of only three other countries – Democratic Republic of the Congo (some sources state that the proportions are 2:3), Papua New Guinea{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Flag of Papua New Guinea|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355453/flag-of-Papua-New-Guinea|date=July 28, 2013|access-date=September 3, 2014|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413171621/http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355453/flag-of-Papua-New-Guinea|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}{{cite web|title=PNG Flag and National Anthem|url=http://www.pngembassy.org/flag.html|access-date=September 3, 2014|work=Embassy of Papua New Guinea to the Americas|publisher=Government of Papua New Guinea|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222115637/http://pngembassy.org/flag.html|url-status=live}} and San Marino.{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Flag of San Marino|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355487/flag-of-San-Marino|date=July 28, 2013|access-date=September 3, 2014|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413171755/http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355487/flag-of-San-Marino|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gP_-8rXzQs8C&pg=PA3633|title=Europa World Year|publisher=Taylor & Francis Group|year=2004|page=3633|isbn=9781857432558}} Furthermore, the country's flag does not utilize the green, yellow and red colours of the Pan-Africanist movement, in contrast to its neighbouring countries. Unlike other former French colonies in Africa, the flag consists of a horizontal tricolour, rather than a vertical one modelled after the flag of France.
Presidential flags
| class="wikitable"
! width="110"|Flag!!width="100"|Duration!!width="250"|Use!!width="250"|Description | |||
| File:Flag of the President of Gabon (1960–1990).svg | 1960–1990 | rowspan="3" | Presidential Standard of Gabon | Banner of arms. Green field with three yellow circles forming the top third. The bottom two-thirds feature a yellow field, with a galleon flying the flag of Gabon at the stern sailing on the sea with three blue waves. |
| File:Presidential Standard of Gabon (1990-2016).svg | 1990–2016 | Horizontal green and blue bands separated by a yellow band at the centre, with the coat of arms in a white circle in the middle. | |
| File:Flag of the President of Gabon.svg | 2016–present | Coat of arms on a navy blue background with bands the same colours as the national flag in each corner, from the edge green, yellow, and blue |
Naval flags
| class="wikitable"
! width="110"|Flag!!width="100"|Duration!!width="250"|Use!!width="250"|Description | |||
| File:Pavillon de la Marine Nationale du Gabon.gif | Flag of the Gabonese Navy |
Ethnic group flags
| class="wikitable"
! width="110"|Flag!!width="100"|Duration!!width="250"|Use!!width="250"|Description | |||
| File:Flag of Musikongo.svg | Flag of the Kongo people |
Provincial flags
Municipal flags
| class="wikitable"
! width="110"|Flag!!width="100"|Duration!!width="250"|Use!!width="250"|Description | |||
| File:Flag of Libreville, Gabon (version 1).svg | rowspan="2" | Flag of Libreville | Libreville Coat of Arms on a white field | |
| File:Flag of Libreville (version 2).svg | Libreville Coat of Arms with a black text "Mairie de Libreville" on a white field |
Historical flags
| class="wikitable"
! width="110"|Flag!!width="100"|Duration!!width="250"|Use!!width="250"|Description | |||
| File:Flag of Gabon 1959-1960.svg | 1959–1960 | Flag of Gabon | Horizontal green and blue bands separated by thinner yellow band at the centre, with the French Tricolour at the canton. |
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Flags of Gabon}}
- {{FOTW|id=ga|title=Flag of Gabon}}
- [http://www.worldflags101.com/g/gabon-flag.aspx Gabon Flag] at World Flags 101
{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=Flags of Africa}}
{{nationalflags}}
{{Gabon topics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabon, Flag of}}