Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosna i Hercegovina

Last modified: 2006-01-21 by dov gutterman
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image by Jan Oskar Engene

Official Name: Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina)
Capital: Sarajevo
Location: Southeastern Europe, Bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Government Type: Federal Democratic Republic
Flag adopted: 4 February 1998
Coat of Arms adopted: 20 May 1998
ISO Code: BA

• The Current Flag
• Meaning of the Flag
• Office of the High Representative

See:

• Clickable Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Flag Law
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Construction Sheet
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Coat of Arms
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Use of Flags
• Historical flags
  • In the Ottoman Empire
  • Independent Bosnia (1878)
  • In the Austo-Hungarian Empire
  • In Yugoslavia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina - Flag of 1992
  • Former Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
  • Former Autonomous Region of Western Bosnia
• Proposed flags
  • Proposals upon Independence (1992)
  • The 1998 Flag Change

• Subdivisions of Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Republic of Serbska

• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Human Rights Ombudsman

• Bosnian Muslim Flag

• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Political Parties - Index

• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Military Flags and Aircraft Marking

• Bosnia and Herzegovina - International Forces

• Flags on stamps of Bosnia

See also:

• Sandzak in Yugoslavia,
• Former Yugoslavia

The Current Flag

Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Adopted: 4 February 1998 by United Nations High Representative.
Usage: Civil and state flag
Sources: Official specification sheet supplied by the Office of the High Representative.
Jan Oskar Engene, 9 February 1998

In a report from a young vexillologist from Tuzla, based on local newspapers Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz, and reports of the OHR, he confirmed the three points of triangle - three nation "theory", and provided Pantone coding for the colours: Blue: Reflex
Yellow: 116
There are 7 + 2/2 stars, where the two halfs would make one whole star if the edges would be connected. The blue, "in combination with the stars" is said to represent "Europe and the Council of Europe, of which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part".
Željko Heimer, 7 February 1998

Concerning the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, my source for the colours is the model drawing I got by fax from the Office of the High Representative in Sarajevo. This drawing specifies Reflex blue and yellow 116 in the Pantone Matching System.
The flag law itself only uses the terms 'blue' and 'yellow'.
The model drawing also refers to a second colour specification system:
Print: EPSON Stylus COLOR 600
CMYK: blue - C.40 M.0 Y. K.0, yellow - C.0 M.20 Y.100 K.0 .
Jan Oskar Engene, 24 February 1998

B&H review i.e. page BO 2.1 in Album 2000 [pay00]:
First, the full name (given in French only, as usual thoughout the book ) is wrong - it is not "Republique de" nor anything else, but only "Bosnie-Herzegovine".
Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (CSW/--- 1:2). Here also he word Republic is to be deleted. The flag, and it's construiction details are rather well reported and agree with Album.. The colours are given as approximate, but I thought that the PMS values quoted above are official. Arent' they?
Regarding the use, there are some questions in every of the six dots. The CS-/--- are more or less clear (though the C part is not that clearly stated in laws IIRC). Regarding the --W/---, I am not sure, there is no army that would use this flag, and as far as I am aware, both in the Federal B&H army and in the army of Srpska the respective entity flags are used. Then again, I guess in theory W here would do. Regarding the use on sea - at least by default and lack of anything else the C and S functions would be taken by that flag. B&H have see access in Neum, shot strip cutting the souther Croatian land in two south of Neretva river confluence. I am not sure how it is there right now, but I guess the boats there would have to hoist
something... The big boats belonging to B&H would use the port in Ploce (Croatia, confluence of Neretva) after an agreement of the two states. I don't know if there are such ships and what flag they use, tough once long time ago I have seen the Federal flag hoisted on one ship (I reported that some years ago). There is no navy, that is for sure, so no ---/--W here. I tend to say that the usage is CSW/CSW, but that is not quite so, either... but at least there is no other flag to fill in any of the dots.
Željko Heimer, 18 March 2001

Meaning of the Flag

See also: The 1998 Flag Change

Why do the top and the bottom star go over the edge of the flag? Was it supposed to be that way, or was it a mistake?
Peo Fahlen, 11 October 1998

No, it is not mistake - it was intended that way, officially it is said that it represent the infinity of the star pattern (IIRC). IMHO; it was made that way so hat there would not be any number of stars that would resamble anything at all, especially not the 10 cantons of one half of B&H. Stars are inspired by EU stars.
Željko Heimer, 14 October 1998

Office of the High Representative

There is a new OHR flag hanging right outside the OHR building in Sarajevo. I believe it had the Bosnian map outlined and a bunch of laurel leaves with the inscription "OHR" on it.
Muhamed Mesic, 13 November 2002