The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

The Flag of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has been using the traditional colours of red, yellow, and green dating back to Emperor Menelik who ruled Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913. Before actually using a rectangular flag, it was common to see the three colours being flown as separate pennants.

The colours of African Unity are one of the oldest flags on the continent, and finally used on a flag in 1897, the year when Ethiopia turned back the invading Italian army. The Royal flag also featured the Lion of Judah, a crowned lion carrying a cross, with the Ethiopian colours affixed to it. This emblem is widely seen as a link between the state and the Ethiopian church. And this flag is most famously tied with the Emperor Haile Selassie. The man who is revered by the Rastafari movement. 

Even when Selassie was overthrown by the Derg, they could not replace the flag with something more familiar  to Communist movements around the world. They could not replace one of the most significant flags in Africa. Even though the Derg set up a Communist government, all they did with the flag was to strip it of all the emblems, leaving it as a plain tricolour.

However, the government suffered from famine that devastated large parts of the nation, as well as insurrection from many ethnic groups. Finally, the ethnic groups united and began a coherent push on the government. Unfortunately for the communist government, the Soviet Union had ended its "World Communism" push, and stopped aid for Ethiopia. The government finally crumbled in 1991. Over the next 4 years, Ethiopia finally began to gather itself, and a new constitution was written and enacted in 1995. With the new constitution came a new flag.

Again, they did not change the flag, but placed a new symbol on the flag to represent a new dawn. A yellow star on a blue disc. The star is a pentogram, and symbolises Ethiopia's bright future as well as being a link to the House of King Solomon. The rays round the star are set equidistant, and represent the equality of all the Ethiopian peoples. 

The colours on the flag, the red, yellow, and green, all have their own meaning. The red represents the blood spilt in defence of the land, the yellow stands for peace and harmony, and the green stands for peace and fertility.