From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Flag ratio: 1:2

The Original flag, which was used from 1975 to 1987 and 1991 to 1996, and is still widely seen today.

Flag of Ethiopia (1987-1991)

The old flag with the Lion of Judah. It remains popular with the Rastafari movement and people loyal to Haile Selassie.

The Flag of Ethiopia was adopted on February 6, 1996.

The colours of African unity - red, green, yellow - are seen here on one of the oldest African flags. These colours were used for the national flag of Ethiopia in 1897, a year after Ethiopia decisively defended itself from colonial Italy at the Battle of Adwa. The flag's tri-colour scheme has existed since the early 19th c. and was previously the official banner of the Ethiopian Empire's Solomonic dynasty. The royal flag often featured the emblem of a Lion of Judah, a crowned lion carrying a cross centred in the banner's yellow mid-section. The flag is understood to be a link between the Ethiopian church, the peoples, and the nation were united in the one flag. Whilst red is currently featured at the bottom of the horizontal tricolour this was reversed in the mid 19th century and the emblem was added in 1996. What the colours symbolize varies depending on point of view, but generally: red represents power or African blood spilled in defence of the land; yellow for peace and harmony between Ethiopia's various ethnic and religious groups; green is almost always said to symbolize the land and its fertility. Other African nations, upon their independence from their colonial rulers so often adopted these three colours that they are known as the Pan-African colours.

Prior to 1996, and to some extent even today, the 'plain' flag was commonly seen across the nation and the world. Previously, especially during the Derg regime, a number of different emblems were experimented with, however, the basic colour schematic has remained constant. Even the oppressive Derg did not dare to tamper with the colours' layout, but simply removed and changed the imperial emblem after Haile Selassie's overthrow. An alternative coat of arms featuring a five pointed star and rays over a cogwheel surrounded by a wreath of leaves is now the featured emblem.

The star, which is a pentagram, is yellow on a blue disc, which overlaps the green and red stripes. The star testifies to Ethiopia's bright future and possibly echoes the connection with the House of King Solomon, while the yellow rays which it emits are equidistant and are said to represent the equality of all Ethiopians regardless of race, creed, or gender.

• Ethiopia at Flags of the World
• http://www.ethioworld.com/CountryInformation/ethiopianflag.htm
• http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Ethiopia.html