Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Hereinafter, Bosnia) as a nation has been fought over, independent, and subjugated many times in its history. Most recently, Bosnia was a constituent nation of the Republic of Yugoslavia. Due to its geographic place within the Federation, Bosnia saw a large build-up of military and heavy industry, which played a huge role in the Bosnian war in the early 1990's

The birth of the nation of Bosnia was hugely traumatic, with a violent war being fought between the Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) Bosnian Croats on one side, and on the other, the Bosnian Serbs backed by Serbia.

In 1992, independence was declared and Bosnia began to move towards statehood. The first flag of the fledgeling nation used the Bosnian fleur-de-lis in the centre of a white field. However, this flag proved divisive, with the Croat and Serb communities not feeling that the flag represents them.

Once the conflict was settled, it was up to the UN High Representative to introduce a new flag for the nation. Unfortunately, none of the proposals met with universal approval from all 3 communities, so the UN had to impose one.

One early proposal featured a red white and blue tricolour set at about 45 degrees, with a map of Bosnia imposed on the centre white stripe, surrounded by 10, or 12 stars. The stars where to represent Europe.

Finally, a new round of proposals where created. The fist proposal featured a yellow triangle on a light blue field with a string of stars running along the left edge of the triangle.

The second option featured 5 interlocking bars that did not extend the full width of the flag. Alternating between white and yellow. Again, on a light blue background.

The final choice featured 10 interlocking bars, this time arrange to form a simplified map of Bosnia. Again, alternating between yellow and white.

The final choice was the first option. Though, the blue was darkened to a shade the same as that used on the European Union flag. The final design features a triangle butting along the top of the flag. The three points representing the 3 peoples of Bosnia. Also, it does look like a simple map of Bosnia. The line of stars was altered from the proposed design. This time, with 7 white stars and 2 half stars. The line of stars is supposed to be infinite, which is why the flag features 2 half-stars. The stars are to represent Europe, and the colours show Bosnia's desire to integrate more fully with the nations of Europe.