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Chile

Republic of Chile; República de Chile

Last modified: 2006-09-30 by antónio martins
Keywords: chile | star: 5 points (white) | vertical | coat of arms: per fess (star) |
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[Flag of Chile]
image by Željko Heimer, 13 Dec 2005
See also: Other sites:
  • page with animated national flag and coat of arms.
    reported by Dov Gutterman, 31 Dec 1998

  • Chile flag protocol: This website has a few graphics about the flag display. It is from the Ministry of External Affairs.
    reported by Zachary Harden, 16 Oct 2005
  • here’s a nice Chile national flag related logo, in MacroMedia SockWave Flash format.
    reported by António Martins, 24 May 2002

Description of the flag

The Album 2000 [pay00] says (pages CH 1.1 & CH 1.2):

1. National flag. [CSW/CSW] 2:3 (1+1):(1+2)
Željko Heimer, 09 Apr 2001

Placement and size of the star

Apparently, it seems that the size and the exact positioning of the star is nowhere prescribed. My assumption that seems quite strightforward is that the star is inscribed in an imaginary circle centered in the blue square and having diameter half the length of the square size, i.e. 1/4 of the hoist.
Željko Heimer, 13 Dec 2005

Official undated publication About our Flag [c9lXX] states that «the size of the star was fixed in 1912». My own spec which was taken from the accompanying illustration shows the star at one-quarter the hoist, with the circle that contains it being centred rather than the star itself. The same source also says that «the exact layout of the panel and stripes was fixed by legislation dated 4 July 1854», and later that «the flag was last regulated in a law of 18 October 1967».
Christopher Southworth, 13 Dec 2005

The size of the star of the Chilean flag is defined by Law No. 2597 (January 11, 1912) as «the diameter of the star will be half the side of the blue square [canton]». (The same rule of the star size goes for the Presidential Flag.)
Francisco Gregoric, 26 Mar 2006

In Album 2000 [pay00], page CH 1.1 (Chile), Fig. 1 (national flag) have additional black line around the blue field. No doubt, unintentionally.
Željko Heimer, 11 Jan 2001

Color shades

The only official definition found so far is simply «blue», «white» and «red» at the website of the Presidency of Chile.
Ville Koistinen, 08 Feb 2006

There are, at least as far as I have be able to discover, no officially recommended/specified colours for the Chilean flag. The Album des Pavillons [pay00] recommends red 186C () and blue 286C (), the Flag Institute of Great Britain red 032C () and also blue 286C (), (although these are simply default shades in the absence of anything official). I do have an official illustration of the flag, which whilst not being in any way definitive, would suggest that PMS286 () for the blue is about right, but that the red might be closer to PMS 185 ()?
Christopher Southworth, 08 Feb 2006


Vertical display

Flag of Chile vertically
↴↺ | image by Željko Heimer, 13 Dec 2005

The vertical use of the Chilean flag is used with the star at left, as is said in the Decreto Supremo Nº 1.534 (Supreme Decree No. 1534):

Artículo 3°. - […] Cuando no fuere posible izarla en un asta o mástil, se la colocará extendida totalmente en forma horizontal o vertical, debiendo quedar en ambos casos, el cuadro azul en la parte superior y a la izquierda del espectador. […]
Translation: «Article 3°. - [... ]When will not be possible to hoist it in a flagsataff or mast, will be placed totally extended in horizontal or vertical form, having to be, in both cases, the blue square in the superior part and to the left of spectator.[... ]»
Marcelo Véliz, 26 Oct 2005

What if the spectators can see it from both sides?
António Martins, 27 Oct 2005


Coat of arms

[Arms of Chile]
image by Željko Heimer, 13 Dec 2005, based on Corel clip art

The presidential flag and Minister of Defence flag show the coat of arms overall.
António Martins, 16 May 2000

According to the Album [pay00], the star has eight black nervations. The bird has green feathers, a white “collar” and brown head (except the beak, which is yellow). The shield has a yellow fimbriation.
Ivan Sache, 09 Apr 2001

The motto says «Por la razón o la fuerza», translatable as «By right or might».
Santiago Dotor, 19 May 2000

If I recall correctly, both flags are equally acceptable without the ribbon with the motto.
Željko Heimer, 18 May 2000

The book [udk97] shows the scroll.
António Martins, 16 May 2000

Flaggenbuch 1905 [ruh05] dont have motto nor nervations, nor also Flaggenbuch 1925 [d9e26] and Flaggenbuch 1939 [neu39]. I believe that image is an error (using the arms without scroll from other flag, the presidential flag that is above in the same page) but can be also an older version. The presidential flag has the arms like the ones in Flaggenbuch 1905 (similar to the ones in 1939). The Ministry of Defense is a modern flag and the arms must be the modern ones and not the 1905 or 1939 ones.
Jaume Ollé, 28 May 2000, 12 Apr 2001 and 04 Oct 2002

The Chilean Army page on the national and army coats of arms says the motto was added to the arms in 1920. Flaggenbuch 1925 [d9e26] and 1939 [neu39] may have been behind in their information, or perhaps the flags were not changed immediately when the coat of arms was changed. The army page attributes the motto to Bernardo O’Higgins, the father of Chilean independence.
Joe McMillan, 04 Oct 2002


Anything below this line was not added by the editor of this page.