Page created: 26th September 1997 Last updated: 29th June 2001	This page is under construction! Links and images might be missing! Data presented on this page may be entirely incorrect!
The FAME is site devoted to systematic and scientific study of flags and coats of arms. Such symbols often bear strong political and other messages. Inclusion of those symbols here does not mean that the author support or approve the ideas they may stand for.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Flag Proposals 1997/1998

• Proposals published in August 1997
  • Czech style tricolour
  • Olive branch
  • Geographic map
• Proposals published in December 1997
  • Diagonal tricolour with map and 10 stars
  • Diagonal tricolour with map and 12 stars
  • Diagonal tricolour with map and olive branches
  • Horisontal tricolour with map and olive branches
• Proposals published in January 1998
  • Triangle and stars
  • Five bars
  • Ten bars

After the Dayton Agreement in 1995 the need for the new flag of the county was felt, as the white flag with fleurs-de-lis shield was considered by Serbs and Croats as appropirated by Bosniaks, and it was rejected as the joint symbol. The Joint commision for the state coat of arms, flag and anthem was formed to give proposlas for the new state symbols. Several designs in consideration of the Commision was published in media. With the end of 1997 High Representative intensified the work on the new flag adoption. In consultation with vexillologic experts (notably Jos Poels from Flag Institute in London), Office of High Representative made new commision (so called Westendorp Commission) that came up with three radically new and neutral proposals in January 1998, and though the Parliament could not decide on them and rejected them, High Representative using his legal power imposed the new state flag based on one of the proposals, with change of the blue shade accoridng to a sugegstion from FI. The choice of the new flag was just in time to be seen for the first time in general public on the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano 1998.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

Proposals published in August 1997

Czech style tricolour

2:3~

Many prioposals used red, blue and green colours, to represent the three nations - Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks respectivly. The tricolour in Czech style was one of such preffered by the Joint commision for the state coat of arms, flag and anthem, in August 1997.

Olive branch

2:3~

The other main stream of the proposals was, so to say, of neutral design. These were often based on UN colours and ideas similar to the Cypriot flag. Light blue flag with golden olive branch was one of such proposals considered by the Joint commision for the state coat of arms, flag and anthem, in August 1997.

Geographic map

2:3~

Setting a map at a flag is never a convinient solution, but it was considered by some a good way of providing both neutral symbol as wellas the symbol of unity and integrity of the country.

Proposals published in December 1997

Diagonal tricolour with map and 10 stars

1:2~

Proposals issued in several Sarajevo weekly magazines are tricolours of red, white and blue set diagonally (and horizontaly in one case) with the map of the county surrounded with stars or UN olive branches. In this proposal the map is yellow bordered blue, surrounded with ten pive-pointed yellow stars. Ten stars are reference to 10 cantons of the Federation (though why they should be relevant for the county flag is an other matter).

Diagonal tricolour with map and 12 stars

1:2~

Very similar proposal to the previous only differing in number of stars being 12. They would stand for the 12 stars of European Union that is seen as a future goal of the country as well as the source of considerable effort to bring peace to the war-thorn country.

Diagonal tricolour with map and olive branches

1:2~

In this proposal the map is yellow, bordered green and surrounded with olive branches of the same design as in the UN emblem. UN had significant role in peace effort of the country.

Horisontal tricolour with map and olive branches

1:2~

This proposal consists of the same elements as previous, only the tricolour is horizontal. A similar proposal was issued as a proposal by the second civil administrator of B&H, Jaques Klein, in Globus 1997. It is possible that this one, and the previous three proposals are all based on Klein's proposals. All of these proposals are reported in variants with interchanged position of red and blue fields.

Proposals published in January 1998

Triangle and stars

1:2 | 2:3

The first proposal, on that is latter new adopted flag based, consists of blue field with yellow rectangual equlateral trangle with one of the short sides falling along the upper edge of the flag, and in the blue field along the longer triangle side are set line of white five-pointed stars, topmost and lowest being only partially visible. It seems that the total number of stars was increasted from 9 to 10 in the adopted design, but the number does not have any significance for the symbolic anyway. The triangle should reporesent highly stylized map of Bosnia and Herzegovina as was a it is a symbol of equlaity and strength. The stars resemble the EU stars, and their unending row respesent the unlimited progress hoped for B&H. This porposal, together with other two was rejected by B&H Parliament on 3-FEB-1998. After rejection by Parliament it was adopted by UN High Representative Carlos Westendorp on 4-FEB-1998, with change in the shade of blue.

Five bars

1:2 | 2:3

The deisgn consists of a light blue field with five bars, three yellow bars issuing from hoist and not reaching the fly end and two white bars issuing from fly and not reaching the hoist. The design should symbolize the strength of cooperation, three yellow bars might be seen as symbols of the three peoples of B&H while the two white ones might be explained for two country's entities.

Ten bars

1:2 | 2:3

The third variant proposed is again on UN blue field with total of ten bars, five yellow and five white, the first issuing from hoist the other from fly and forming in the center a trinagular shape remining on the map of the country.