View source for Flag of Libya

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = State of Libya
| Article = 
| Image = Flag of Libya.svg
| Alt = 
| Noborder = 
| Nickname = 
| Morenicks = 
| Use = 111110
| Symbol = {{FIAV|111110}} {{FIAV|normal}} {{FIAV|Mirror}}
| Proportion = 1:2
| Adoption = {{Start date and age|1951|12|24|df=y}}<br>{{Start date and age|2011|08|23|df=y}} ([[Battle  of Tripoli (2011)|Battle of Tripoli]])
| Relinquished = {{Start date and age|1969|09|01|df=y}} ([[1969 Libyan revolution|military coup]])
| Design = A horizontal [[triband (flag)|triband]] of red, black ([[Spanish fess|double width]]) and green; charged with a white crescent and [[five-pointed star]] centered on the black stripe.
| Designer = [[Omar Faiek Shennib]]
| Image2 = Naval Ensign of Libya.svg
| Nickname2 = 
| Morenicks2 = 
| Use2 = 000001
| Symbol2 = {{FIAV|000001}} {{FIAV|normal}} {{FIAV|Mirror}}
| Proportion2 = 
| Adoption2 = 
| Design2 = A cerulean ensign with the Libyan Flag in the canton, and a white anchor in the fly side.
| Designer2 = 
}}
The [[national flag]] of [[Libya]] ({{Langx|ar|علم ليبيا}}) was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the [[Kingdom of Libya]]. It was designed by [[Omar Faiek Shennib]] and approved by [[Idris of Libya|King Idris Al Senussi]] who comprised the UN delegation representing the three regions of [[Cyrenaica]], [[Fezzan]], and [[Tripolitania]] at UN unification discussions. 

The flag was abolished following the fall of the Kingdom in 1969, and the leader [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]] had implemented a few other different flags since then, but it was ultimately readopted by the [[National Transitional Council]] following the fall of Gaddafi on 3 August 2011.

The flag consists of a [[Triband (flag)|triband]] [[Pan-African colours#The UNIA colours|red-black-green]] design, the central black band being twice the width of the outer bands. A white [[star and crescent]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Is the Crescent Moon a Symbol of Islam as Is Widely Believed?|url=https://www.learnreligions.com/the-crescent-moon-a-symbol-of-islam-2004351|access-date=2022-01-18|website=Learn Religions|language=en}}</ref> is located in the center of the flag.

==History==
{{anchor|Kingdom of Libya}}
[[File:Flag of King Idris I.svg|alt=|thumb|[[Royal Standard]] of [[Idris of Libya|Idris I]] (1951–1969)]]
The first Libyan flag design was based on the banner of the [[Senussi]] dynasty from [[Cyrenaica]], which consisted of a black field and [[star and crescent]] design, and was later used as the flag of the region.

[[Omar Faiek Shennib]], Chief of the Royal Diwans, Vice President of the National Assembly and Minister of Defense under [[Idris of Libya|King Idris Al Senussi]] is credited in the memoirs of [[Adrian Pelt]], UN commissioner for Libya (1949 to 1951) for the design of the original flag of Libya.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
According to Pelt:
"during deliberations of the Libyan National Constitutional Convention, a paper drawing of a proposed national flag was presented to the convention by [[Omar Faiek Shennib]] (distinguished member of the delegation from Cyrenaica). The design was composed of three colours: red, black and green, with a white crescent and star centered in the middle black stripe. Mr. Shennib informed the delegates that this design had met the approval of His Highness Emir of Cyrenaica, [[Idris of Libya|King Idris Al Senussi]] (later to become King of Libya). The assembly subsequently approved that design."<ref name="dec2">{{cite web |url=http://24dec1951.com/libya/national-flag-of-libya.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031013922/http://24dec1951.com/libya/national-flag-of-libya.html |archive-date=31 October 2015 |title=National Flag of Libya |publisher=24dec1951.com |date=24 December 1951 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{year needed|date=September 2016}}{{page needed|date=September 2016}}<!--could this perchance be "Libyan Independence and the United Nations: A Case of Planned Decolonization" (1970)? These aren't "memoirs", it's a 1000-page topical monograph. Cite a page please.-->

This flag represented Libya from its independence in 1951 until the [[1969 Libyan coup d'état]]. The symbolism of the star and crescent in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya was explained in an English language booklet, ''The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem'', issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown) as follows: "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the Islamic calendar. It brings back to our minds the story of [[Hijra (Islam)|Hijra]] [migration] of our Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness."<ref>cited after a [[:File:Libyan Flag Construction Ministry of Information and Guidance 1951.jpg|copy]] kept by the library of Swiss Vexillological Society; cf. Jos Poels at [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/Flags/ly_1951.html FOTW], 1997.</ref>
[[File:Flag of Libya (without crescent and star).svg|thumb|During the [[Libyan Civil War]], design without the [[star and crescent]] was common on homemade flags]]
[[File:Libyan protesters flag (observed 2011).svg|thumb|Another variant also used by rebels during the [[Libyan Civil War]], with the three stripes of the same size]]
In 2011, interviews with Ibtisam Shennib and Amal Omar Shennib, Omar Faeik Shennib's only two remaining children, were cited as confirming Pelt's account of the origin of the flag.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://feb17.info/news/for-amal-life-rebegins-at-75/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911195449/http://feb17.info/news/for-amal-life-rebegins-at-75/ |archive-date=11 September 2012 |title=For Amal, life (re)begins at 75 {{pipe}} |publisher=Feb17.info |date=19 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 
Ibtisam Shennib recalled the morning her father brought a draft of the flag to the breakfast table and showed it to her and her siblings, explaining the original intent behind the selection of the flag's colours and symbols. According to Omar Faiek Shennib, "red was selected for the blood sacrificed for the freedom of Libya, black to remember the dark days that Libyans lived under the [[Italian Libya|occupation of the Italians]] and green to represent its primary wealth, agriculture, [Libya once being referred to as the 'agricultural basket' or 'breadbasket' of the [[Ottoman Empire]]] and the future prosperity of the country. The star and crescent were placed within the black central strip of the flag as a reference to the [[Senussi]] flag and the role of King Idris in leading the country to independence". The flag's colours also echo the colours of the flags of the three regions of Libya: [[Fezzan]] (red), [[Cyrenaica]] (black), and [[Tripolitania]] (green).<ref name="dec2"/>

Under [[Muammar Gaddafi]]'s [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|leadership]], Libya had a [[Arab Liberation Flag|red-white-black]] flag from 1969 to 1977, and it was replaced by the all-green flag from 1977 to 2011, during which it was the only national flag in the world to have one colour and no design. 

During the [[2011 Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]] against the rule of [[Muammar Gaddafi]], the 1951–69 flag – as well as various makeshift versions without the crescent and star symbol, or without the green stripe – came back into use in areas held by the [[Libyan opposition]] and by protesters at several Libyan diplomatic missions abroad.<ref name="meo_sweden">[http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=44543 .Libya's monarchist flag: a symbol of anti-Gathafi protest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228083933/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=44543 |date=28 February 2011 }}. Middle East Online. Retrieved 27 May 2011.</ref><ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/libya/2011/02/2011224123588553.html What's in a flag? – Libya]. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 27 May 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2011/feb/17/bahrain-crisis-middle-east-protests-live-blog#block-20|title= Bahrain in crisis and Middle East protests – live blog|author= Mark Tran|date= 17 February 2011|work=The Guardian |access-date=19 February 2011|location=London}}</ref>
The [[National Transitional Council]], formed on 27 February 2011, adopted the flag previously used in the Kingdom of Libya between 1951 and 1969 as the "emblem of the Libyan Republic".<ref>[http://ntclibya.org/ National Transitional Council ''(Retrieved 13 March 2011)''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025040725/http://ntclibya.org/ |date=25 October 2011 }} Ntclibya.org. Retrieved 27 May 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ntclibya.com/InnerPage.aspx?SSID=25&ParentID=20&LangID=1|title=Libya National Flag|access-date=28 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721230816/http://www.ntclibya.com/InnerPage.aspx?SSID=25&ParentID=20&LangID=1|archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> The flag was officially defined in article three of the [[Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration|Libyan Draft Constitutional Charter for the Transitional Stage]]:

<blockquote cite="https://www.scribd.com/doc/62823350/Libya-Draft-Constitutional-Charter-for-the-Transitional-Stage">The national flag shall have the following shape and dimensions:

Its length shall be double its width, its shall be divided into three parallel coloured stripes, the uppermost being red, the centre black and lowest green, the black stripe shall be equal in area to the other two stripes together and shall bear in its centre a white crescent, between the two extremities of which there shall be a five-pointed white star.
</blockquote>

On 10 March 2011, France was the first country to recognise the council as the official government of Libya, as well as the first to allow the Libyan embassy staff to raise the flag.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12699183 |work=BBC News | title=Libya: France recognises rebels as government | date=10 March 2011}}</ref> On 21 March, the flag was flown by the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations and appeared on their official website,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418 |work=BBC News | title=Libya air raid 'killed civilians' | date=31 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110826175617/http://libyanmission-un.org/ Libyan Mission New York]}}. Libyanmission-un.org (5 March 2011). Retrieved 27 May 2011.</ref> and thereafter in late August by the [[Arab League]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/2011827223817990105.html |title=Libya regains Arab League seat – Africa |publisher=Al Jazeera English }}</ref> and by Libya's own telecommunications authority,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ltt.ly/ |title=ليبيا للاتصالات و التقنية |publisher=Ltt.ly |access-date=2016-09-30 }}</ref> the [[Libya Telecom & Technology]], on its own website. In the following months many other Libyan embassies replaced the green flag of Gaddafi with the tricolour flag.

This original flag of Libya is now the only flag used by the [[United Nations]] to represent Libya, according to the following UN statement: 
"Following the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 66/1, the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations formally notified the United Nations of a Declaration by the National Transitional Council of 3 August 2011 changing the official name of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to 'Libya' as well as a decision to change Libya's national flag to the original."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2011/unisvic184.html |title=United Nations Information Service ''(Retrieved 19 December 2011)'' |publisher=Unis.unvienna.org |access-date=2020-03-14}}</ref> All Libyan diplomatic posts, such as [[embassies]] and [[consulates]], use the original flag of Libya.               
{{Clear}}&nbsp;{{anchor|Libya flag 1977-2011}}

==Legal basis and construction==
[[File:Libyan Flag Construction Ministry of Information and Guidance 1951.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem'', English-language booklet issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown, copy kept by the library of Swiss Vexillological Society)]] 
The flag of Libya is described in Article 7 of the Constitution of 7 October 1951. It was officially adopted on 24 December 1951. The passage from the constitution reads:
{{quote|Chapter 1, Article 7: The national flag shall have the following dimensions: Its length shall be twice its breadth, it shall be divided into three parallel coloured stripes, the uppermost being red, the centre black and the lowest green, the black stripe shall be equal in area to the two other stripes combined and shall bear in its centre a white crescent, between the two extremities of which there shall be a five-pointed white star.}}
Both the precise shade and legal construction is described in a booklet issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951.<ref>[English translation based on The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem, a booklet issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya, cited after Jos Poels at FOTW, 27 January 1997]</ref> The passage reads: 
{{quote|The exact particulars of the Libyan National Flag prescribed by Article 7 of the Constitution shall be as follows: The red shall be sign red, and the green permanent green. The Crescent shall be on the hoistward side of the star, and the centre of the circle of which the crescent forms a part shall be in the centre of the flag. The star shall be in the open end of the crescent and one point of the star shall point to the centre of the circle. The maximum width of the 270 crescent shall equal {{frac|1|6}} of its outside diameter which is {{frac|1|4}} of the width of the flag. The distance between the tips of the crescent shall equal that between the uppermost and lowermost point of the star measured along a perpendicular forming the hoistward sides of these two points. The perpendicular shall form a tangent to the outside circumference of the crescent at a point equidistant from the top and bottom of the flag.}}
[[File:Flag of Libya (construction sheet).svg|500px|thumb|center|Construction sheet]]

=== Colour scheme ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2024}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
![[File:Flag of Libya.svg|30px]]
! style="background:#e70013; width:200px" | <span style="color:white;">Red</span>
! style="background:#FFFFFF; width:200px" | <span style="color:black;">White</span>
! style="background:#239e46; width:200px" | <span style="color:white;">Green</span>
! style="background:#000000; width:200px" | <span style="color:white;">Black</span>
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" | '''[[RGB colour model|RGB]]'''
| <code>231/0/19</code> || <code>255/255/255</code> || <code>35/158/70</code> || <code>0/0/0</code> 
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" | '''[[Hexadecimal]]'''
| <code>#e70013</code> || <code>#FFFFFF</code> || <code>#239e46</code> || <code>#000000</code> 
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" |'''[[CMYK colour model|CMYK]]'''
| <code>0/100/92/9</code> || <code>0/0/0/0</code> || <code>78/0/56/38</code> || <code>0/0/0/100</code> 
|}

==Other flags==
<gallery>
File:Flag of the Libyan National Army.svg|[[Libyan National Army]]{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
File:Flag of the Libyan Ground Forces.svg|[[Libyan Army]]
File:Flag of the Libyan Navy.svg|[[Libyan Navy]]
File:Flag of the Libyan Air Force.svg|[[Libyan Air Force]]
File:Flag of the Libyan Air Defense Forces.svg|Libyan Air Defense Forces
File:Flag of The Libyan National Army (Variant).svg|Libyan National Army (Variant){{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
</gallery>

==Historical flags==
{| class="wikitable"
! Flag
! Date
! Government
! Notes
|-
|[[File:Maritime flag of Regency of Tripoli (18th century).svg|border|150px]]
|1864–1911
|[[Ottoman Tripolitania]]
|The [[Name of Libya|name "Libya"]] was re-introduced during colonisation by Italy in 1934. Before 1911, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[vilayet of Tripolitania]] (the "Kingdom of Tripoli") included much of the same territory as modern Libya.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg|border|150px]]
|1911–1947
|[[Italian Libya]]
|After the [[Italo-Turkish War]] (1911-1912), [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] established the two colonies of [[Italian Tripolitania]] and [[Italian Cyrenaica|Cyrenaica]], which merged into [[Italian Libya]] in 1934. They all used the [[Flag of Italy#Kingdom of Italy|flag of Italy]].
|-
|[[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|border|150px]]
|1947–1951
|[[British Military Administration (Libya)|British Military Administration]]
|The areas of Libya under [[British Military Administration (Libya)|British military administration]] (Cyrenaica 1947–1949 and Tripolitania 1947–1951) did not have their own flag and thus used the [[Union flag]] of the United Kingdom.
|-
|[[File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg|border|150px]]
|1947–1951
|[[Fezzan-Ghadames Military Territory|Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames]]
|During the French Administration of the former [[Southern Military Territory]], [[Fezzan-Ghadames (French Administration)|Fezzan-Ghadames]], did not have their own flag and thus used the [[flag of France]].
|-
|[[File:Flag of Cyrenaica.svg|border|150px]]
|1949–1951
|[[Emirate of Cyrenaica]]
|During [[World War II]], Italian Libya was [[Allied occupation of Libya|occupied]] by France and the United Kingdom. The [[Cyrenaica Emirate]] was declared in [[British Military Administration (Libya)|British-occupied Cyrenaica]] in 1949 with the backing of the British authorities. The "Emir of Cyrenaica", [[Idris of Libya]], kept the emirate's flag which derives from the [[flag of Turkey]] (a white crescent and star on a black background) as his personal flag after he became king of Libya in 1951.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Libya (1951–1969).svg|border|150px]]
|1951–1969
|[[Kingdom of Libya]]
|Originally called the United Kingdom of Libya, it came into existence upon independence on 24 December 1951 and lasted until a [[1969 Libyan coup d'état|coup d'état]] led by [[Muammar Gaddafi]] on 1 September 1969 overthrew King [[Idris of Libya|Idris]]. Its flag was a triband of red, black and green with a crescent moon and star.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Libya (1969–1972).svg|border|150px]]
|1969–1972
|[[Libyan Arab Republic]] 
|Following the [[History of modern Libya#Gaddafi's Coup d'état|coup d'état of 1969]], the flag was replaced by the [[Pan-Arabism|Pan-Arab]] red-white-black tricolour of the [[Arab Liberation Flag]], first flown after the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952]] (which also formed the basis of the flags of [[Flag of Egypt|Egypt]], [[Flag of Iraq|Iraq]], and [[Flag of Yemen|Yemen]]).
|-
|[[File:Drapeau_de_la_République_Arabe_Islamique_(Union_tuniso-libyenne).svg|border|150px]]
|(1974)
|[[Arab Islamic Republic]] 
|A failed attempt in 1974 by Muammar Gaddafi to merge the Libyan Arab Republic with Tunisia planned to use this flag.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Libya (1972–1977).svg|border|150px]]
|1972–1977
|[[Federation of Arab Republics]]
|In 1972 when Libya joined the [[Federation of Arab Republics]] its flag was adopted by the country, linking it to [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]]. It featured a golden hawk (the "[[Hawk of Quraish]]"), holding a scroll with the Arabic name of the Federation. The flags of Libya from 1951 to 1972 and since 1977 uses the 2:1 ratio, the 1972–1977 flag is the only Libyan flag that uses the 3:2 ratio for the first time.
|-
|[[File:Naval Ensign of the Federation of Arab Republics.svg|border|150px]]
|1972–1977
|Federation of Arab Republics
|Naval ensign of Libya
|-
|[[File:Flag of Libya (1977–2011).svg|border|150px]]
|1977–2011
|[[Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya]]
|The flag of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was adopted on 19 November 1977 and consisted of a green field. It was the only [[national flag]] during that time in the world with only one colour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/africa/libya.htm|access-date=12 December 2009|title=Libya Flag}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/897415360 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/894134206 cite #20 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> It was chosen by Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]] to symbolise his [[Political philosophy of Muammar Gaddafi|political philosophy]] (after his ''[[The Green Book (Muammar Gaddafi)|Green Book]]'').<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/libya-protests-egypt-flag-idUSLDE71L1OJ20110222 |title=Staff of Libyan consulate in Egypt lower flag |publisher=Reuters | date=22 February 2011}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/897415360 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/894134206 cite #21 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> The green colour traditionally [[Green in Islam|symbolises Islam]], reflecting the historical green banners of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. In Libya, green was also a colour traditionally used to represent the [[Tripolitania]] region. This flag continues to be used by [[Gaddafi loyalism|Gaddafi loyalists]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2015-08-04 |title=Gaddafi loyalists stage rare protest in eastern Libya |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0Q91WS/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |publisher=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-12 |title=Death sentences spark pro-Gaddafi protests |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/death-sentences-spark-pro-gaddafi-protests |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=[[Middle East Eye]] |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Flag of Libya (1977–2011, 2-3).svg|border|150px]]
|1977–2011
|Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
|Similar but 2:3 ratio.
|-
|[[File:Naval Ensign of Libya (1977–2011).svg|border|150px]]
|1977–2011
|Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
|Naval ensign of Libya
|}
{{Clear}}

==See also==
* [[List of Libyan flags]]
* [[National Emblem of Libya]]
* [[Libya, Libya, Libya|National Anthem of Libya]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Arab Flags}}
{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Africa]]}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Libya, Flag of}}
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1951]]
[[Category:Flags introduced in 2011]]
[[Category:Flags of Africa]]
[[Category:Flags with star and crescent]]
[[Category:National symbols of Libya|Flag]]
[[Category:National flags]]
[[Category:1951 establishments in Libya|Flag]]
[[Category:1969 disestablishments in Libya|Flag]]
[[Category:2011 establishments in Libya|Flag]]
[[Category:Quadcolor flags]]