BRAZIL
WORLD FLAGS
SITE ON THE ORIGIN, DESIGN AND SYMBOLOGY OF THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD
#G / GABON / Africa
GABON
.GA
Official name:
Gabonese Republic
*French / Gabonese Republic
Capital: Libreville
Idiom: French
Form of Government: Presidential republic
Currency: Philippine peso
Demonym: Gabonese/-esa
Administrative divition: 9 Provinces
FLAG
The national flag of Gabon was adopted on August 9, 1960. It is made up of three horizontal stripes of the same size. The color of the upper stripe is green, which symbolizes the flora of the country. The central yellow stripe represents sunlight. The lower stripe is blue, the same color of the Atlantic Ocean that bathes the coasts of the country. The old flag had the flag of France in the canton and had the stripes, but the yellow one was similar to a line.
The French gained control of present-day Gabon in 1839, when a local chief handed over sovereignty over his land to them. The Berlin Conference of 1885 solidified France's claim to the territory through diplomatic recognition, and it later became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910. Under French colonial rule over Gabon, authorities prohibited the colony from using its own distinctive colonial flag. This was because they were concerned that this might increase nationalist sentiment and lead to calls for independence. However, with the rise of the decolonization movement in Africa, the French were forced to grant limited autonomy to Gabon as an autonomous republic within the French Community. This was granted in 1958 after a referendum supporting the proposal was held.
Gabon, considered "one of the most progressive" of the French colonies, quickly formulated a design for a new flag, which was officially adopted a year later, in 1959. It featured a horizontal tricolor identical to the current flag, but with the yellow stripe in the center narrower than the green and blue bands that surrounded it. The French Tricolor was situated in the canton of the flag, making Gabon the only French autonomous republic to feature this "symbolic link" with France.
On August 9, 1960, just over a week before Gabon became an independent country on August 17, the flag was slightly modified. The change involved removing the Tricolor in the canton and enlarging the yellow stripe in the center, thus making it the same width as the other two stripes.
National flag
Ratio: 3 x 4
The colors and symbols of the flag have cultural, political and regional meanings. Yellow alludes to the equator, which runs through the country, and also symbolizes the sun. Green epitomizes Gabon's natural resources, as well as its "extensive forested area" on which the Gabonese people depend economically in the form of wood. Blue represents the sea, specifically the South Atlantic Ocean along which the country has an "extensive coastline". While Whitney Smith in Encyclopædia Britannica and Dorling Kindersley's Complete Flags of the World describe the central band as solely yellow, The World Factbook characterizes it as yellow and gold.
OTHER FLAGS
Presidential Flag
Ratio: 3 x 4
CONSTRUCTION
A : 4 | B : 1
COLORS
39 %
Green
HEX CODE
# 009e60
SYMBOLIZES:
REPRESENTS THE NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE EXTENSIVE WOODED AREA
39 %
Yellow
HEX CODE
# fcd116
SYMBOLIZES:
IT ALLUDES TO THE ECUADOR AND REPRESENTS THE SUN
17 %
Blue
HEX CODE
# 3a75c4
SYMBOLIZES:
REPRESENTS THE WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
HISTORY
Flag of
Gabon
1959 - 1960
SHIELD
Gabon's coat of arms was designed by the Swiss heraldist and vexillologist Louis Mühlemann, one of the founding members of FIAV and also the designer of the Congo's coat of arms. The panthers symbolize the vigilance and courage of the president who protects the nation. The bezantes (gold discs) within the shield symbolize the mineral abundance of the country. The shield is supported by two black panthers and an okoumé tree that symbolizes the timber trade. The ship represents Gabon moving towards a brighter future. The coat of arms is unusual in that it has two ribbons with mottos in two different languages. The ribbon at the bottom of the shield bears the French motto “UNION, TRAVAIL, JUSTICE” (“Union, Work, Justice”). The second ribbon is placed under the branches of the okoumé tree and bears the Latin motto "UNITI PROGREDIEMUR" ("Let's go forward together").
