Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
A blue field with a large yellow right-angled triangle whose long side runs diagonally from the top edge to the bottom. A row of white five-pointed stars follows that side, with half stars at each end.
What the flag means
On the day the flag was chosen, the Office of the High Representative said the triangle stands for the three constituent peoples, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, and that the stars and the blue stand for Europe. The triangle also roughly follows the shape of the country.
History
The country's parliament could not agree on a flag acceptable to all parties, so the High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, chose this design and imposed it on 4 February 1998. He had several proposals to pick from, and the chosen one was given a darker blue close to that of the European Union flag. The design is credited to Mladen Kolobarić. It replaced the flag with six golden lilies used since 1992.
The stars at the top and bottom are cut in half to show the row continuing beyond the flag.
Earlier flags of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 1946–1992Red flag with the Yugoslav blue, white and red tricolour in the canton
- 1992–1998White flag with a blue shield, white diagonal band and six gold lilies
Flags of Bosnia and Herzegovina's neighbours
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Office of the High Representative: OHR BiH TV News Summary, 4 February 1998
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
