Last modified: 2013-03-14 by ivan sache
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![[Flag of Armenia]](../images/a/am.gif)
National flag of Armenia - Image by António Martins, 6 September 2005
Flag used between 1918 and 1921 and
readopted 24 August 1990 (with modified proportions), coat of arms used between 1918 and 1921 and readopted 24 August 1990.
Proportions: 1:2
Description: Horizontally divided red-blue-orange.
Use: on land, as the civil, state and war flag.
Colour approximate specifications (Album des Pavillons [pay00]):
On this page:
See also:
The symbols of Armenia are prescribed in Article 13 of the Constitution of Armenia, adopted in 1995, as follows:
The flag of the Republic of Armenia is tricolor made of three horizontal and equal stripes of red, blue, and orange.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia depicts, in the center on a shield, Mount Ararat with Noah's ark and the coats of arms of the four kingdoms of historical Armenia. The shield is supported by a lion and an eagle while a sword, a branch, a sheaf, a chain and a ribbon are portrayed under the shield.
The national anthem of the Republic of Armenia is "Our Fatherland".
The capital of the Republic of Armenia is Yerevan.
Gvido Petersons, 11 August 2000
The "Declaration about Independence of
Armenia" was adopted on 23 August 1990; the Law "About
the national flag of the Republic of Armenia" (No C-0076-1) was adopted by
the Supreme Council on the next day, 24 August 1990.
The Law prescribes the national flag of Armenia as a rectangular panel of proportions 1:2, with three equal horizontal stripes of red, blue and orange colours (from top to
bottom).
Victor Lomantsov, 2 March 2002
Following the Constitutional reform of 27 November 2005, Law No. 149 "On the National Flag of Armenia" was adopted on 15 June 2006 by the Parliament and signed on 4 July 2006 by the President of the Republic, Robert Kocharian (unofficial translation).
[...]
Article 2. The Flag of the Republic of Armenia.
The Flag of the Republic of Armenia is one of the state symbols of the Republic of Armenia.
The Flag of the Republic of Armenia is tricoloured, red, blue and orange horizontal equal stripes from top to bottom. The red colour symbolizes the Armenian highland, and the constant fight of the Armenian people for longevity, the Christian religion, and the independence and freedom of Armenia. The blue colour symbolizes the will of the Armenian people to live peacefully under a blue sky. The orange colour symbolizes the creative talent and diligence of the Armenian people. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is 1:2. Foreseen by this present passage, by the preservation of the ratio of the flag of the Republic of Armenia a smaller or larger flag can be also used.
A coloured image of the flag of the Republic of Armenia is shown in the Supplement, forming a component of the present Law.Article 3. The Use of the flag of the Republic of Armenia.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia is always on display on buildings of the Residence of the President of the Republic of Armenia, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, the Courts of the Republic of Armenia, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia, the Human Rights Defender, the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, the Executive Bodies of the Republic of Armenia, the other Bodies of the State Governance, and constantly functioning bodies (services, councils, committees) created by the Law of the Republic of Armenia, Territorial Management and Local Self-Government Bodies (including the building of the Municipality of Yerevan) of the Republic of Armenia.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia, in compliance with the international rights and norms, diplomacy protocols and the traditions of the receiving states, shall constantly be hoisted in display on the buildings of Diplomatic Service Bodies (embassies, representatives, consular institutions) in the Republic of Armenia and on other state representative buildings of the Republic of Armenia.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia is hoisted during the opening ceremonies of official championships and lowered during the closing ceremonies.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia is always located in the halls used for official, labour and solemn ceremonies, in the halls of the Residence of the President of the Republic of Armenia, National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Government of the Republic of Armenia, in the Court rooms of the judicial meetings of the Courts of the Republic of Armenia and the meeting halls of the Central Electoral Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia is located in one of the halls or lobbies of the Residence of the President of the Republic of Armenia, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, and other bodies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, Head of the Staff of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Head of the Staff of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, Head of the Staff of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, President of the Control Chamber of the Republic of Armenia, Human Rights Defender, Republican Executive Bodies, authorities of other bodies of state governance, heads of the standing bodies, created by Law of the Republic of Armenia (services, councils, committees), judges, prosecutors of the Republic of Armenia, authorities of the Territorial Management and Local Self- Government Bodies (including the building of the Municipality of Yerevan,) in the offices of the authorities of diplomacy service bodies of the Republic of Armenia located in the territories of foreign states (representatives of embassies, consulate institutions) and in one of the halls or lobbies of the educational institutions.
Besides the cases foreseen by this article, the flag of the Republic of Armenia can be located in other places, on buildings, constructions and dwellings.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia, according to the state protocol core provisions, can be attached on the vehicles of the President of the Republic of Armenia, on the vehicles of the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia only during the visits of the foreign delegations, as well as according to the protocol of the receiving countries the flag of the Republic of Armenia can be attached on the vehicles of the authorities of the official delegations and authorities of diplomacy and regular representatives of the Republic of Armenia.
The swearing in ceremony of persons for constitutional posts, or other persons, defined by the Law of the Republic of Armenia is performed under the flag of the Republic of Armenia.
Besides the cases, foreseen by this article, regulations for the use and display of the flag and the image of the flag of the Republic of Armenia are defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.Article 4. The Hoisting, Lowering and Transferring of the Flag of the Republic of Armenia.
The protocol of hoisting, lowering and transferring of the flag of the Republic of Armenia is defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia. The flag of the Republic of Armenia is lowered during officially declared mourning days or mourning ceremonies. The flag is lowered to the middle of the flagstaff. Black ribbon is attached above the flag, the length of which is equal with the length of the flag.Article 5. The Use of the Flag of the Republic of Armenia during the Mourning Ceremonies.
In the cases defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, during funeral services aiming to pay military tribute to a deceased citizen, the body and the coffin of the deceased are covered with the flag of the Republic of Armenia. Before burial, the flag of the Republic of Armenia is presented to the relatives of the dead.Article 6. The Use of the Flag of the Republic of Armenia with the Flag of a Foreign State in the Territory of the Republic of Armenia.
When it is necessary to hoist the flag of the Republic of Armenia simultaneously with the flag of a foreign State in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the flag of the Republic of Armenia should be raised from the left side of the building (as viewed facing the building.) While at the same time some odd numbered flags are hoisted the flag of the Republic of Armenia should be hoisted in the middle of them.
If even numbered flags (more than two) are raised, the flag of the Republic of Armenia should be raised left from the middle.
In case the flag of the Republic of Armenia is simultaneously raised with the flags of the foreign countries the ratio of the flags of other countries should not be larger than the flag of the Republic of Armenia.Article 7. The Requirements to the Flag of the Republic of Armenia.
The raised flag of the Republic of Armenia should be a complete one, clean and not pale and the bottom of the flag should be raised from the ground not less than 2.5 meters.
The ratio of the length of the flag to the flag staff should be not less than 1: 1,7.
In case the flag of the Republic of Armenia is hung perpendicularly it should be turned 90 degrees in counter clockwise direction so that when facing the flag the sequence of colours of red, blue and orange is not be broken from left to right.
By the defined order of this law the standing flag of the Republic of Armenia should be illuminated at night after sunset.Article 8. Imitation of the Flag of the Republic of Armenia.
The flags of the NGOs and institutions of the Republic of Armenia should differ from the flag of the Republic of Armenia.Article 9. The Use of the Flag of the Republic of Armenia by the Armed Forces and Other Troops.
The flag of the Republic of Armenia is raised at the locations of the state government body, authorized by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, military units, Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia and separate subdivisions of other troops, as well as locations of other troops during ceremonies and official events, i.e. military parade, parade, oath of allegiance, holiday events and other special events.
According to the statutes of the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia, in the foreseen cases, while taking out the fighting flag of the military unit the flag of the Republic of Armenia is also taken out.
The order for taking out and locating the flag of the Republic of Armenia simultaneously with the fighting flag of the military unit is defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.Article 10. The Responsibility in Case the Requirements of this Law are Breached.
The breach of the requirements of this law causes responsibility by the defined order.Article 11. The Validity of the Law.
This Law is valid from the 10th day following its official publication.Article 12. Transitional Provisions.
Before the establishment of the Control Chamber of the Republic of Armenia the relevant requirement of the 5th part of Article 3 is functioning for the President of the Control Chamber of the Republic of Armenia.
The moment this Law is in function the Decree of 30 September 1967 of the Supreme Council Presidency of ASSR on "Defining the Statute of the ASSR Flag" and the HN-0076 Law of the Republic of Armenia of 24 August 1990 on "State Flag of the Republic of Armenia" become invalid.
Ivan Sache, 8 May 2011
Quoting the Panorama portal, 14 March 2008:
Today in the National Assembly state-legal questions committee session was discussed the proposal of deputies Armen Ashotyan and Karen Avagyan to hold some supplements to the "Law on the Flag of Armenia".
According to the National Assembly official wesite, Armen Ashotyan said that while drafting the law they took into account the proposals and the comments of the Government and the National Assembly.
According to the project it is offered to raise the Armenian flag from the left hand if there is another foreign flag, if the number of flags is odd number then the Armenian flag should be in the middle of them, if the flags are pairs then the Armenian one should be in the left hand from the middle.
Ivan Sache, 21 March 2008
Some alternative interpretations of the colors
of the Armenian flag are:
1) A rainbow over Mount Ararat.
2) Red is the blood shed and the whole is derived from the colours of
the banners of the former Kingdom of Cilicia.
3) A simple description of the colours says: vermilion red,
ultramarine blue and apricot orange.
4) A friend told me that he has heard: red: blood shed; blue:
eternal land of Armenia; orange: courage.
5) Finally a source not to be neglected, the Embassy of the Republic
of Armenia in Ottawa (although I find this one very awkward): red:
the sun's energy; blue: the clear sky; orange: the wheat at
harvest.
Note that 1), 2), 3), and 4) are not in contradiction:
1) gives the impression given by the flag as a whole.
2) explains the origins.
3) describes the colours precisely.
And 4) gives a meaning to each colour.
However, 5) is clearly in contradiction with 4), but also with 2).
Luc Baronian, 5 May 1997
The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12]) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the flag to be.
For Armenia, PMS 485 red, reflex blue, 1375 yellow. The vertical version is simply the flag turned through 90 degrees anti-clockwise.
Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012
![[Variant of the flag]](../images/a/am!light.gif)
The flag of Armenia as shown on a postage stamp - Image by António Martins, 25 May 2008
In 1992, newly (re)-independent Armenia issued a stamp (0.20 dram; SG 255) featuring
the national flag depicted in crayon style as a fluttering view.
The flag shows unusual specifications, with apparent proportions of 2:3 instead of the official 1:2 and color shades for blue and orange much
lighter than expected, the latter being indeed medium yellow instead.
António Martins, 25 May 2008