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Aruba

(2:3)
by Mark Sensen, 30 December 2000

Official Name: Aruba
Capital: Oranjestad
Location: Caribbean
Government Type: Autonomous Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Flag adopted: 18 March 1976
ISO Code: AW

The Flag
Status of Aruba
The Specifications of the Flag

See also:

The Flag

The flag is blue with two yellow bars in base and a red fourpointed star fimbrated white in chief towards the hoist. The flag dates from 1976. The four pointed star should represent the island's four main languages
Zeljko Heimer, 28 November 1995

The light blue stands for both the sea and the sky. The star greets the people of all four directions of the wind. The yellow stands for hte wanglo, a rainflower that sometimes with its yellow colour lifts up the whole island.
Mark Sensen, 28 November 1995

The text of the Flag Regulation, 14 March 1977 was published in the Aruban Gazetteer. The colour of the field of the Aruban flag is Larkspur, which is the "British Colour Council Dictionary of Colour Standards, No. 196", also known as "U.N. Blue". The yellow stripes are "Bunting Yellow", no. 113 from the same dictionary. The red of the star is "Union Jack Red", no. 210. The white fimbriation of the star is no. 1.
Mark Sensen, 17 June 1999

From <www.aruba.com>:
"Aruban Flag - The flag of Aruba was officially adopted on March 18, 1976, along with the official anthem "Aruba Dushi Tera." (It was chosen on March 18 because it was on this day in 1948 that Holland accepted Aruba's right to choose for an autonomous status in the kingdom of the Netherlands). The Aruba flag has four colors: Bunting yellow, Larkspur (or U.N.) Blue, Union Jack Red and White. Each of these colors is significant: the blue represents the sea that surrounds Aruba; yellow is the color of abundance, representing the island's past and present industries of gold, aloe and oil; red is for love each Aruban has for his or her country and the ancient industry of Brazil wood; and white symbolized the snow-white beaches as well as the purity of the hearts of Aruba's people who strive for justice, order and liberty. The symbols on the flag consist of a red star and two yellow stripes. The representatives of more then 40 nations immigrated to Aruba. The star also represents the island itself, surrounded by the beautiful blue sea. The horizontal yellow stripes denote the free and separate position Aruba enjoys in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Aruba continues to celebrate all that the flag and anthem have come to signify with the national holiday of Flag and Anthem Day each March 18."
The flag shown in the government pages is in diferent proportions as described above- seems to be 1:2.
Gvido Petersons, 8 November 2000

De Nederlandse vlag in heden en verleden by Derkwillem Visser [vis90] 2nd ed. (1995) has (translated): "The island council of Aruba accepted on tuesday 16 march 1976 the design for a flag of its own. This flag was hoisted for the first time on thursday 18 march 1976 in the capital Oranjestad. The Blue stands for the sea and the sky; the four-pointed star greets the sections of the population from all over the earth, and the white star fringe is to accent the red of the star against the blue of the sky. The yellow stripes refer to the Wanglo, a rainflower which, sometimes within a single day, causes the whole of Aruba to light up with her yellow colour. At the top hoist (pole side) of the blue field a four-pointed white fringed red star. In the lower half of the field two lengthwise stripes of yellow (stripe-width - 1/18th of the flag-height) from the foot above 3/18th and 5/18th of the flag-height".
I've never seen an Aruban flag in UN blue.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 9 November 2000

Neither "Union Jack Red" nor "U.N. Blue" are at all similar to the respective shades on the dutch national flag, which I would expect to be used on the Aruban flag.
Antonio Martins, 10 November 2000

I don't see it logically. They may be a Dutch possession but they also have their own unique heritage as well, I'm sure they want an "Aruban" flag. I think the "UN Blue" is supposed to represent their world-famous blue-green waters.
David Kendall, 12 November 2000

While my stay in New York (1984-1989) I had seen Aruban flag in Aruban tourist bureau pamphlet which shows hotel men such as manager,waiter and chef are waving the flag in the shore. The shade of blue is yellowish light blue similar to the color of blue-green water but not dark as Dutch blue.
Nozomi kariyasu, 12 November 2000

This color usualy is called "turquoise blue.
Gvido Petersons, 13 November 2000

It's aquamarine, then, like in the bahamian flag - still not UN blue, which is, light but not greenish.
Antonio Martins, 27 November 2000

The blue of the Aruban flag is defined as Larkspur, according to the British Colour Council Dictionary of Colour Standards no. 196, a.k.a. "U.N. Blue". The yellow is defined as "Bunting Yellow", according to the same standard no. 113. The red is defined as "Union Jack Red", according to the same standard no. 210.
Mark Sensen, 28 November 2000

Union Jack Red should be something nearby RGB:204-0-0. UN blue (difined as PMS 279) is RGB:51-153-204 (but note that UN blue is not the reported greenish blue). I have no idea about Bunting Yellow, but it's probably either RGB:255-255-0 or RGB:255-204-0
Antonio Martins, 27 December 2000

A comitee worked in the winner proposal and at end created a flag adopted 18 March 1876. Date is provided by Flag Bulletin (Mr. Smith or a delegate from him was member of the Comitee)
Jaume Ollé, 14 and 17 October 2001

Flag adopted 16 March 1976 (by eilandsraad / island council). Flag first hoisted 18 March 1976 (in capital Oranjestad)
Source: Derkwillem Visser, De Nederlandse Vlag in heden en verleden, Amsterdam 1990, p80) ("The Netherlands Flag (in present and past)". Date is provided by Flag Bulletin (Mr. Smith or a delegate from him was member of the Comitee)
Gerard van der Vaart, 16 October 2001

Resolution of the Island Council No. 2509 dated 16 March 1976, which established the flag, gives the width of the white fimbriation to the star as being 1/133 of flag width ("un-cientoy-trinta e tres parti di hanchura di e bandera").
Christopher Southworth, 7 July 2003

The The Specifications of the Flag is made from Island Regulation of 14 March 1977 concerning regulations of the flag, in which he width of the white fimbriation is not given. Does the resolution say if the white is taken from the red star, from the blue field, or from both?
Mark Sensen, 7 July 2003

Unfortunately, the Resolution does not seem to make clear whether the fimbriation is taken from the red or the blue. The Resolution definitely states that the ratio is 2:3 ("E proporcionnan di e hanchura y largura ta 2:3").
Christopher Southworth, 7 July 2003

The British Flag Institute recommendations for all three colours are: blue PMS300, red PMS032 and yellow PMS109. I'm afraid to say that I am not at all sure on what the late William Crampton based these recommendations (or indeed how accurate they are) I am sure, however, that there was no official model in the Institute files.
Christopher Southworth, 31 March 2004

Status of Aruba

The island of Aruba formed a part of the Netherlands Antilles till 1986. On January 1 of that year Aruba stepped out of the Antilles and got its own status as a separate colony of the Netherlands. It was agreed that Aruba would achieve independence ten years later (thus in 1996). The governments of Aruba and the Neterlands however, agreed recently that Aruba will stay part of the Kingdom of the Neterlands and will not become an independent state in 1996. There is no other date set. Aruba has economic reasons to stay under the umbrella of The Netherlands.
Mark Sensen, 28 November 1995

Before 1986 there was a strong movement for independance. As a first step the Netherlands granted Aruba the 'status aparte', which separated it more or less from the other Dutch Antilles. Later was to follow a plebiscite on independence. Behind the movement was the decline in income because Venezuela decided to have its own oil-refineries, instead of having it done in Aruba and Curacao. After 1986 Aruba became a holiday-paradise, getting a useful income from tourism (and some say from other dubious sources) and independence is more or less off the agenda.
Jarig Bakker, 3 May 1999

The Status Aparte (autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands outside the Netherlands Antilles) granted to Aruba on 1 January 1986 was intended as the first step to full independence on 1 january 1996. However, in the early 1990s independence was cancelled on request of Aruba.
I think changes that the Aruban flag would have changed after independence would almost zero, unless maybe a (con-)federation with Venezuela (wanted by some) would have been established.
Mark Sensen, 4 May 1999

The Specifications of the Flag

by Mark Sensen, 30 December 2000