View source for Flag of Benin

{{short description|National flag}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox flag
|Name = [[Benin|Republic of Benin]]
|Image = Flag of Benin.svg
|Nickname = 
|Use = 111111
|Symbol = {{FIAV|111111}} {{FIAV|normal}} {{FIAV|Mirror}}
|Proportion = 2:3
|Adoption = {{Start date and age|1959|11|16}}<br>{{small|(Re-adopted on August 1, 1990)}}
|Design = A horizontal bicolour of yellow and red with a green vertical band at the hoist.
|Designer = 
}}
The [[national flag|national]] '''flag of Benin'''<ref name=Tsavo>{{cite web|title=National Flag of Benin|url=http://www.worldflags101.com/b/benin-flag.aspx|access-date=May 19, 2013|work=World Flags 101|publisher=Tsavo Media Canada Inc.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526022928/http://www.worldflags101.com/b/benin-flag.aspx|archive-date=May 26, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> ({{langx|fr|drapeau du Bénin}}) is a [[flag]] consisting of two horizontal yellow and red bands on the fly side and a green vertical band at the hoist.  Adopted in 1959 to replace the [[Flag of France|French Tricolour]], it was the flag of the [[Republic of Dahomey]] until 1975, when the [[People's Republic of Benin]] was established.  The new regime renamed the country and changed the flag to a green field with a [[red star]] in the canton. This version was utilized until [[multi-party democracy]] was re-established in 1990, coinciding with the [[Revolutions of 1989]].  The new government promptly restored the original pre-1975 flag.
[[File:Benin flag.png|thumb|Flag of Benin]]

==History==
Under [[French colonial empire|French colonial rule]] over [[French Dahomey|Dahomey]], French authorities forbade the colony from having its own [[National flag|regional flag]].  This was because they were worried that this could increase nationalistic sentiment and lead to calls for independence.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Gabon, flag of|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355240/Gabon-flag-of|access-date=May 19, 2013|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.}} '''{{subscription required}}'''</ref>  However, with the rise of the [[Decolonization of Africa|decolonization movement in Africa]], the French were obliged to grant limited autonomy to Dahomey as a self-governing republic within the [[French Community]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3G3XyLV6b4cC&q=french+community+benin&pg=RA1-PT241|title=Historical Dictionary of Benin|publisher=Scarecrow Press|date=December 14, 2012|last1=Houngnikpo|first1=Mathurin C.|last2=Decalo|first2=Samuel|access-date=May 19, 2013|isbn=978-0810873735}}</ref>  This was granted on December 4, 1958, and a search for a national flag began soon after.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D27kUeUnZVcC&q=french+community+benin&pg=PT11|title=Background Notes: West Africa, June 2011|publisher=U. S. Department of State|date=July 1, 2011|access-date=May 19, 2013|isbn=978-1592431304}}</ref>

The new flag was chosen on November 16, 1959, and remained unchanged when Dahomey became independent less than a year later on August 1, 1960.<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Benin, flag of|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355066/Benin-flag-of|access-date=May 19, 2013|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.}} '''{{subscription required}}'''</ref>  In 1972, [[1972 Dahomeyan coup d'état|a coup d'état]] took place in the country, with the new government aligning itself with [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] ideals.  In order to symbolize the revolutionary change, the country was renamed [[People's Republic of Benin|Benin]] and a new flag was instituted three years later.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Benin|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/benin/history|access-date=May 19, 2013|publisher=Lonely Planet}}</ref>  It featured a green field [[Charge (heraldry)|charged]] with a [[Five-pointed star|five-pointed]] [[red star]] in the top-left canton.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why did Dahomey change its name to Benin?|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZZglAAAAIBAJ&pg=2870,75786&dq=flag+of+benin&hl=en|date=January 13, 1976|access-date=May 19, 2013|first=Omo|last=Olukun|newspaper=Washington Afro-American}}</ref>  The new flag was never adopted by law, however, making it only the ''[[de facto]]'' flag of Benin.<ref name=Tsavo/>

The green flag remained in place until 1990, when economic problems and the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|weakening]] of the [[Soviet Union]]'s power due to the [[Revolutions of 1989]] culminated in the collapse of the People's Republic of Benin. The original flag from 1959 was reinstated on August 1, 1990.<ref name=EB/>

==Design==
The colours of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings.  As stated in the national anthem, the green of the flag represent the hope of a new democracy. The red represents the courage of the ancestors, and the yellow is for the treasures of the nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gouv.bj/benin/le-drapeau/|title=Le Drapeau|publisher=Government du Benin|access-date=January 6, 2019}}</ref> On a continental level, the yellow, green and red represented the [[Pan-Africanism|Pan-Africanist]] movement;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ezur2IUQ4OkC&q=flag+of+benin&pg=PA46|title=Flags|publisher=HarperCollins UK|year=2004|last=Shaw|first=Carol P.|pages=46|access-date=May 20, 2013|isbn=9780007165261}}</ref> the three colours were utilized by the [[African Democratic Rally]], a political party representing the interests of [[French West Africa]] in the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly of France]] at the time of decolonization.<ref name=EB/>  Furthermore, the colours are the same as the ones utilized in the [[flag of Ethiopia]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UD0kOEb1XIC&q=flag+of+benin&pg=PA54|title=Encyclopedic World Atlas|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=December 26, 2002|last=Philip|first=George and Son|pages=54|access-date=May 20, 2013|isbn=9780195219203}}</ref>  This honours the oldest independent country in Africa and the only nation other than [[Liberia]] to remain independent during the [[Scramble for Africa]].<ref name=EB/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/apr/27/iraq.simonjeffery|title= Colouring the outcome|first=Simon|last=Jeffery|newspaper=The Guardian|date=April 27, 2004|access-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref>

==Colour scheme==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2024}}
{| class="wikitable" width="600px" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: nowrap; text-align: left"
|- style="text-align: center; background: #eee"
! [[File:Flag_of_Benin.svg|30px]]
!style="background:#008850; color:#FFF; width:150px"| Green
!style="background:#fcd20f; color:#000; width:150px"| Yellow
!style="background:#e90929; color:#FFF; width:150px"| Red
|-
| [[Pantone]]
| 341c
| Medium Yellow
| 185c
|-
| [[CMYK]]
| 100-0-41-47
| 0-17-94-1
| 0-96-82-9
|-
| [[RGB]]
| 0-136-80
| 252-210-15
| 233-9-41
|-
| [[Web color|Hexadecimal]]
| #008850
| #FCD20F
| #E90929
|}

== Historical flags ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Flag'''
! '''Years of use'''
! '''Ratio'''
! '''Government'''
! '''Description'''
|-
|[[File:Flag_of_Ghezo_of_Dahomey.svg|border|150px]]
|1818–1859
|
|rowspan=3 | [[Kingdom of Dahomey]]
|The royal flag of King [[Ghezo]]. It featured a white field with a red border and an [[African elephant|African]] [[war elephant]] in the center.
|-
|[[File:No flag.svg|border|150px]]
|1859-{{Circa|1890}}
|
|King [[Glele]] was not known to have used any royal flags or banners.
|-
|[[File:Royal banner of Béhanzin of Dahomey.svg|border|150px]]
|{{Circa|1890}}–1894
|
|The royal banner of King [[Behanzin]], which featured a light blue field with the coat of arms in the center.
|-
|[[File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg|border|150px]]
|1894–1959
|2:3
|[[French Dahomey]]
|The [[French tricolour]] was used as the official flag of French Dahomey.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Benin.svg|border|150px]]
|1959–1975
|2:3
|[[Republic of Dahomey]]
|The first flag of Dahomey was introduced on November 16, 1959, after Dahomey was granted semi-autonomous status within the [[French Community]]. It consists of two horizontal yellow and red bands on the fly side and a green vertical band at the hoist.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Benin (1975-1990).svg|border|150px]]
|1975–1990
|2:3
|[[People's Republic of Benin]]
|A new flag was introduced in 1975, following the [[1972 Dahomeyan coup d'état|1972 coup d'état]] and the establishment of the People's Republic of Benin. It consisted of a green field charged with a five-pointed red star in the top-left canton. This is a reversal of the colours of the ruling [[People's Revolutionary Party of Benin|party's]] flag. [[File:Flag of PRPB.svg|border|40px]]
|-
|[[File:Flag of Benin.svg|border|150px]]
|1990–Present
|2:3
|[[Republic of Benin]]
|The pre-1975 flag was readopted in 1990, following the re-establishment of [[multi-party democracy]].
|-
|}

== Other flags ==

=== Military ===
<gallery class="center" widths="140">
File:Flag of Benin Armed Forces (obverse).svg|<small>2:3</small> Flag of the [[Benin Armed Forces]], obverse side
File:Flag of Benin Armed Forces (reverse).svg|<small>2:3</small>{{FIAV|reverse}} Flag of the Benin Armed Forces, reverse side
File:Flag of Republican Police, Front.png|<small>2:3</small> Flag of the {{ill|Republican Police|fr|Police républicaine (Bénin)}}, obverse side
File:Flag of Republican Police, Back.png|<small>2:3</small>{{FIAV|reverse}} Flag of the Republican Police, reverse side
File:Roundel of Benin.svg|Roundel of the [[Benin Air Force]]
File:Roundel of Benin (1975–1990).svg|Historical roundel of the Benin People's Air Force (1975–1990)
</gallery>

== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center" widths="140">
File:Arrondissement de Lissègazoun drapeau du Bénin au Mur.jpg|Faded mural depicting the national flag in [[Lissègazoun]] (2021)
File:Celebrating Voudoun day.jpg|Flags flown in celebration of [[Fête du Vodoun]] in [[Ouidah]] (2017)
File:DEGAN Gabin (motorized parade).jpg|Beninese men waving the national flag on independence day (2016)
File:Benin 001.jpg|Flags outside the Embassy of Benin in Tokyo, Japan (2013)
File:Congress palace in Cotonou, Benin.JPG|Beninese flags waving outside the Congress Palace of Cotonou (2009)
File:Kalemie Medal Parade (12235622173).jpg|Beninese and [[Flag of the United Nations|United Nations]] flags flown by the Beninese contingent of [[MONUSCO]] (2000)
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Coat of arms of Benin]]
* [[Pan-African colours]]
* [[Unidentified flag from the Kingdom of Benin]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*{{FOTW|id=bj|title=Benin}}
{{Commons cat|Flags of Benin}}
{{Benin topics}}
{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Africa]]}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Benin, Flag of}}
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1959]]
[[Category:National symbols of Benin|Flag]]
[[Category:Flags of Africa]]
[[Category:National flags]]
[[Category:Flags with green, red and yellow]]