Flag of El Salvador

The national flag of El Salvador, officially named the Template:Lang (Spanish for "Great Flag"), is a horizontal triband of blue-white-blue, with the national coat of arms centered and entirely contained within the central white stripe. The current flag was adopted by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador on 17 May 1912, and its design is established by the Law of National Symbols approved in 1972. The flag is inspired by the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America, which itself was inspired by the flag of Argentina. From 1865 to 1912, the flag of El Salvador resembled that of the United States, consisting of a red canton, nine alternating blue and white stripes, and white stars in the canton equal to the number of departments.

Design

The official design of the flag of El Salvador was established by the Law of National Symbols passed by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador on 14 September 1972. There are three versions of the flag: the Template:Lang (Spanish for "Great Flag"), the "flag for use in public buildings and offices" ("Template:Lang"), and the "parade flag" ("Template:Lang").<ref name="PoB">Template:Cite web</ref>

The flag's base design consists of a horizontal triband of blue-white-blue. The top and bottom blue stripes symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean; El Salvador does not have a coast on the latter, but it is intended to represent Central America as a whole.<ref name="presidencia"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The center white stripe symbolizes peace. On the Template:Lang, the national coat of arms is located in the center of the white stripe. Its official dimensions are Template:Convert long by Template:Convert tall (a ratio of 189:335),<ref name="LNS"/> and each stripe is Template:Convert tall.<ref name="presidencia">Template:Cite web</ref> On the "flag for use in public buildings and offices", the coat of arms is replaced with the national motto of "Template:Lang" (Spanish for "God, Union, Liberty") in gold capital letters,<ref name="presidencia" /> and the flag's dimensions are Template:Convert long and Template:Convert tall (a ratio of 3:5). The "parade flag" is identical to the prior flag except its dimensions are Template:Convert long and Template:Convert tall (a ratio of 18:29).<ref name="PoB" />

Protocol

Soldiers with the "parade flag"

Each of El Salvador's flags has different protocols for its usage. The Template:Lang is used during government sessions, meetings, or events of all three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) or for the celebrations of national holidays. Salvadoran-registered vessels also use the Template:Lang. The "flag for use in public buildings and offices" is used in all public buildings and offices and must be displayed in a "place of honor" ("Template:Lang"). Diplomatic delegations also use this variant of the flag. The "parade flag" must be supported by a pole with a height of Template:Convert and a diameter of Template:Convert tipped by a diamond-shaped and gold-colored lance with two Template:Convert ribbons (one blue and one white) attached to the junction of the pole and lance. The National Anthem of El Salvador must be played or sung whenever the Salvadoran flag is raised or lowered.<ref name="PoB" /><ref name="LNS" />

History

Cadets of the School for Corporals and Sergeants holding the 1875 military flag<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

On 20 February 1822, Salvadoran general Manuel José Arce unveiled a blue-white-blue triband inspired by the flag of Argentina in San Salvador. The flag was created by his wife, María Felipa Aranzamendi, and sister, Manuela Antonia Arce, amidst a war against efforts by the First Mexican Empire to annex Central America. El Salvador used this flag until 1865.<ref name="DES">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Aguilar">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 14 February 1865, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador issued a decree that adopted a new civil and state flag consisting of nine alternating blue and white stripes and a red canton containing nine stars, each representing the country's nine departments at the time.Template:Efn The military flag was to be the same, except on the obverse, the nine stars were replaced with the national coat of arms. President Francisco Dueñas approved the decree on 28 April 1865.<ref name="El Constitucional">Template:Cite news</ref> The number of stars in the canton increased as the number of departments in El Salvador rose.<ref name="Bernal">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Two stars were added later in 1865 as La Unión and Usulután were created, and one star was added in 1869, 1873, and 1875 each when Ahuachapán, Cabañas, and Morazán were established, respectively.<ref name="FC">Template:Cite web</ref> From 1875 to 1912, the flag of El Salvador had fourteen stars.<ref name="presidencia" /> The 1865 flag resembled the flag of the United States and is known as the "conservative flag" ("Template:Lang") as it was adopted by Dueñas's conservative government.<ref name="Aguilar" /><ref name="Lindo">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 17 May 1912, the Legislative Assembly adopted the blue-white-blue triband as the national flag of El Salvador. The flag was hoisted for the first time on 15 September 1912 at the Campo de Marte in San Salvador.<ref name="presidencia" /> The flag was changed as the 1865 design too strongly resembled the flag of the United States at a time when many Salvadoran leaders held anti-imperialist views with regards to contemporary U.S. interventions in Latin America.<ref name="Aguilar" /><ref name="Lindo" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 1912 design was inspired by the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America, which itself was inspired by El Salvador's 1822 flag.<ref name="presidencia" /> The day after the new flag was hoisted for the first time, the Diario Del Salvador newspaper noted that the new flag strongly resembled the flag of Nicaragua, as both were blue-white-blue horizontal tribands with coats of arms depicting five volcanoes in the center.<ref name="Lindo" /> Use of the 1912 flag was briefly abolished from 15 September 1921 to 29 January 1922 when El Salvador was a member of the Federation of Central America.<ref name="Article 186">Template:Cite web</ref>

Gallery of historical flags

The obverse of the flag of El Salvador used by the military from 1865 to 1912<ref name="El Constitucional" />

Flag	Adopted	Relinquished	Template:Abbr
Flag of El Salvador (1822–1865)	20 February 1822	28 April 1865	<ref name="DES" />
Flag of El Salvador (1865)	28 April 1865	1865	<ref name="El Constitucional" /><ref name="Bernal" />Template:Rp
Flag of El Salvador (1865–1869)	1865	1869	<ref name="Bernal" />Template:Rp<ref name="FC" />
Flag of El Salvador (1869–1873)	1869	1873	<ref name="Bernal" />Template:Rp<ref name="FC" />
Flag of El Salvador (1869–1873)	1873	1875	<ref name="Bernal" />Template:Rp<ref name="FC" />
Flag of El Salvador (1875–1912)	1875	17 May 1912	<ref name="Bernal" />Template:Rp<ref name="FC" />
Flag of El Salvador (1912–1921)	17 May 1912	15 September 1921	<ref name="presidencia" /><ref name="Article 186" />
	9 September 1921	29 January 1922	<ref name="Article 186" />
Flag of El Salvador (1921–present)	29 January 1922	In use	<ref name="presidencia" /><ref name="Article 186" />