| Vexillology of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| Bosnia - Herzegovina |
| Bosnian Coat-of-Arms |
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| Bosnia & Herzegovina is divided into three distrint but contitutionally equal regions: the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska (Serbian Republic), and the District of Brcko. The Serbian Republic is not divided administratively. Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, is divided administratively into 10 cantons. The District of Brcko is the region immediately surrounding that city. Offficially it belongs to neither of the two republics and is administered locally under UN observation. The cantons of Bosnia--Herzegovina each has its own local government, police force, and provincial flag. They originally had more authority, but have since |
| Long Form of Country Name: None Short Form of Country Name: Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina) Form of State: Federal republic consisting of two national entities: the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (representing the Bosnians and Croats) and Republika Srpska (representing the Serbs), as well as a decentralized, UN-monitored district surrounding the city of Brnko. The head of state is a three-member presidency consisting of one Bosniak, one Serb, and one Croat, each elected during presidential elections held every four years. The presidency rotates every eight months between the three. Form of Government: Emerging parliamentary democracy with legislative authority vested in a bicameral legislature called the Skupstina, consisting of a national House of Representatives with 42 seats chosen by popular vote according to proportional representation (28 seats go to Bosnia-Herzegovina and 14 to the Serbian Republic) and the House of Peoples with 15 seats (5 Bosniaks, 5 Serbs, and 5 Croats.) The Executive auhority is vested in a Council of Ministers, the chairman of which serves as the head of government. The chairman is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the House of Representatives. Independence: 3 March 1992, after which civil war ensued. The war did not come to an end until the signing of the Dayton Agreement in Paris on 14 December 1995. Following the peace of the Dayton Agreement, the current constitution and government structure was established. Capital: Sarajevo Major National Groups: 48% Bosniak, 37% Serbian, and 14% Croatian |
| Bosnian Name: |
| English Name: |
| Canton #: |
| Proportion: 1:2 Adopted: 4 February 1998 First Flown: 4 February 1998 Use: Formally known as the Westendorp Flag, but Informally (and somewhat irreverently) known as "the Cornflake Flag" |
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| IX |
| X |
| Unsko-sanski Kanton |
| Una-Sana Canton |
| Bosanskoposavski Kanton |
| Posavina Canton |
| Tuzlanski Kanton |
| Tuzla Canton |
| Zenicko-Dobojski Kanton |
| Zenica-Doboj Canton |
| Bosansko Podrinjski Kanton |
| Bosnian Podrinje Canton |
| Srednjobosanski Kanton |
| Central Bosnia Canton |
| Hercegovacko-Neretvanski Kanton |
| Herzegovina - Neretva Canton |
| Zapadnohercegovacki Kanton |
| West Herzegovina Canton |
| Sarajevski Kanton |
| Sarajevo Canton |
| Herzeg Bosnia Kanton |
| West Bosnia Canton |
| Brnko |
| Croatia |
| Montenegro |
| Serbia |
| Adriatric Sea |
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| ceded some of their authority to the federal govenrnment. The constitution of the central government appoints numeric assignments to each canton. The 10 cantons of Bosnia-Herzegovina are listed in the table above. |
| Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina |
| Croatia |
| Flag of Bosnia-Herzegovina |
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| Bosnian Flag from the Ottoman Empire ca. 18th century |
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| Bosnian Independence Flag - 1878 |
| The first flag on the left was a flag used by Bosnian landlords of the Ottoman Empire during the 17th century. It was used as a battle flag to rally peasants to arms when needed. The Second flag was used briefly after Bosnia gained independence from the Turks in 1878. It had been used during their struggle against the Turks and was adopted as their national flag. It flew for only a few months before the country was overrun and annexed into the Hapbsurg Empire of Austria-Hungary. The green and the star and crescent motif are both Islamic symbols and were used to identify the largest national group of European Muslims. |
| When Austria-Hungary filled the vacuum left by the departure of the Ottomans from Bosnia and Herzegovina, they adopted the heraldric arms of Stjepan Vukcic Hrvatinic, a 14th century Bosnian duke, to represent the country within the imperial establishment. From 1878, the duke's arms were emblazoned on two flags, one with red/gold horizontal stripes, and the other gold/red. The red/gold flag represented Bosnia, while the gold/red flag represented Herzegovina. In 1908, following Hapsburg tradition, the arms were removed and the simple flags came to be the official banners of these Hapsburg provinces. |
| Austro-Hungarian Bosnia - 1908 |
| Austro-Hungarian Herzegovina - 1908 |
| The Austrian-Hungarian Empire was dissolved as a result of its defeat in World War I. The allied powers that were redrawing the political boundaries of Europe at Versailles, however, recognized that the Balkans was a politically and ethnically unstable region that threatened to undo the fragile peace that had been won during the war. To fill the void, they established the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.that existed as a conglomeration of all of the Slavic countries in the area. By uniting all of the Slavs under one king, Peter I of Serbia. Bosnia & Herzegovina was a part of this kingdom and became part of the Republic of Yugoslavia |
| Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Bonsia & Herzegovina - 1943 - 1992 |
| Post Yugoslav Flag of Bosnia-Herzegovina - 1992 - 1998 |
| under General Tito from the proclamation of that communist state until the referendum that proclaimed Bosnian independence in 1992. The proclamation of independence, however, ushered in three years of civil war marked by ethnic cleansing and other crimes against humanity. The reason was that Bosnia and Herzegovina was a country that was home to three nationalities that each vied for dominance. These nationalities are the Serbs, the Bosnian Muslims (now referred to mainly as Bosniaks), and Croatians. All three of these nationalities are ethnically Slavic, but each had different cultural experiences that separated them. The Bosnians and Croats (whose homeland is traditionally to the north of Bosnia) each found themselves defending Bosnia and Herzegovina from Serbs, whose homeland is to the east of Bosnia. The Serbs, who had dominated the old Yugoslavia, did not want for Bosnia to secede from Yugolslavia in the first place, and once it did they sought to dominate and influence Bosnian politics so that the new state of Bosnia and Herzegovina would remain politically and military alligned with Yugoslavia. The resulting conflict was devastating, the result of which is still being played out throughout the region, as UN (and U.S) troops are still there. The flag that was chosen for Bosnia and Herzegovina shortly after the referendum and secession was itself ethnically charged. Known as the Bosnia Fleur-de-lis flag, the main emblem on the flag is a heredlric shield with six golden fleur-de-lis on a blue field, the lillies halved by a silver (or white) bar. This crest was part of the coat-of-arms of the Kotromanic family that ruled Bosnia in the 14th and 15th centuries. This emblem was seen by the non-Bosniaks of the country (including the Serbs and the Croats) as representing only the Bosniaks at the expense of everyone else. It was therefore a contentious flag that only added to the many other problems that had erupted unto civil and ethnic warfare. When the war finally came to an end in 1995, it was abundantly clear that a new flag would have be designed. A flag was needed that had no identification with one ethnicity over the other. Since no such design existed, a completely new design would need to be created Many new flags were proposed, all of them submitted to the office of the United Nations High Representative in Sarajevo, the main peackeeping and peacemaking entity in the country. None, however, were acceptable as being completely free of ethnic undertones. As a result, the High Representative himself, a Spaniard named Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza, designed a flag that was adopted as the official flag of Bosnia & Herzegovina in 1998. This flag, known officially as the Westendorp flag, but called popularly the "Cornflake Flag," the yellow isoceles triangle is intended to represent the physical shape of Bosnia & Herzegovina (as if looking at it on a map). The stars respresent Europe and the European countries that came to Bosnia's aid during the worst days of the war. If you notice, the stars on the top and bottom of the flag are cut off by the flag's edges. This is to symbolize that Europe and the European counties - and the help that they rendered to Bosnia - is infinite. Westendorp, a UN official and representative in the country, originally designed the flag's background to be "UN Blue" in order to pay homage to the assistance that it gave to the country during the war. However, not long after it was adopted, the Bosnia legislature changed the hue to be the darker blue that we see today. It was not intending to disrespect or ignore the UN or its role in bringing peace, but simply wanted a more eye-pleasing shade. As a result, the UN is technically no longer represented in the symbolism of the new flag. In fact, the European Union appears to be better represented because of the use of the EU's gold and blue. However, officials will be quick to point out that the stars on the flag are specifically white, not "European gold." |
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© 2007 SouthBear This page was created on 20 October 2007 Date of Last Revision: 20 October 2007 Animated flagpole: www.fg-a.com |
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