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Ethiopia, Empire (until 1975)

The Lion on the Flag
War Ensign (blue ensign)
Imperial Standard
Minister of Defence

See also:

The Lion on the Flag

from Ethiopia home page 1999 by Jaume Ollé, 6 February 1999

by Yared Haile Selassie, 21 August 2004 by Yared Haile Selassie, 21 August 2004

In an atlas that I have from 1969, there is a flag chart, showing the Ethiopian flag with the golden crowned lion. It is reproduced here from the Ethiopia home page (http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/dmulholl/ethiopia/ethiopia.html now defunct) at the Abysinnian Cyberspace Gateway. The lion is golden (or orange?) and outlined with black. Since W. Smith claims that the pure green yellow red flag was adopted (reintroduced) in 1941 (although he indicates it as civil flag and ensign), this might be the state's (government) flag.
Željko Heimer, 12 June 1996

The North American Vexillological Association met in Trenton, New Jersey a few years ago (1986 IIRC, FOTW member Don Healy was our host) and the son of Haile Selassie (a local resident at that time) was invited to be our guest Dinner Speaker. Mr. Selassie was presented with a very nicely made reproduction of the Ethiopian flag with the Crowned Lion holding the flagstaff with the cross finial on the obverse and St George and the Dragon on the reverse. Mr. Selassie told us about the symbolism of the flag, and he stated that the Cross that the lion carried was a pre-Christian symbol. Since I was highly suspicious of this explanation, I asked him "If the cross on the Ethiopian flag is a Pre-Christian symbol, what does it represent?" Unfortunately I did not get a coherent answer, or at least not one that I could understand. IMHO the cross refers to the Coptic Christians. But that incident in Trenton does serve to remind me of the use of the cross in the Ethiopian flag during the Imperial era.
Nick Artimovich, 12 June 1996

Mr. Selassie may have been confused or it may have been deliberate obfuscation and superstition (which I have occasionally noted in ancient cultures as they seek to legitimize their antiquity). Imperial Ethiopia claimed direct descent from King David of Israel (hence of the Lion of Judah in the flag and in the emperor's title), but these pre-Christian symbols apparently mingled with Christian ones pretty early in the history of the Christian church.
T.F. Mills, 12 June 1996

The State flag was modified after Haile Selassie's overthrow (12 September 1974) by removing the crown from the lion's head and by changing the Cross finial to a Spear point. This version lasted only a few years until the Socialists took over and radically changed Ethiopia's symbols. But they didn't mess with the basic green/yellow/red flag!
Nick Artimovich, 12 June 1996

The lion is the old emblem of the emperor, and was part of the first Ethiopian flag hoisted on 6 October 1897, but then the order of the colours was red over yellow over green. I don't know when the order was change to the green-yellow-red, but this tricolor without any device was reintroduced in May 1941. AFAIK, the flag remained the same.

However, one should consider that W. Smith states that the pure green-yellow-red flag is used by civilians on land and sea (when his book was issued Ethiopia still included Eritrea and its coast on the Red Sea). He does not mention what kind of flag the government or army uses.
Željko Heimer, 6 June 1996

At the College of Arms (UK) website, an artcile on Haile Selassie says http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/HaileSelassie.htm:

"On his appointment to the Order of the Garter in 1954 the Emperor at first asked that he be allotted two stalls in St George's Chapel, one for him as Emperor of Ethiopia, and the other for him as The Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah."

and continues

"A compromise was reached and he accepted one stall but with the banner hanging above it having different devices on either side to represent his dual status."

It would be interesting to find out what those devices were. However, it may be siliar argumet to why the old Ethiopian flag had two sides, one with a lion and one with the dragon.
Nathan Lamm and Santiago Dotor, 20 May 2004

War Ensign (Blue Ensign)


by David Cox, 15 August 2004	by David Cox, 15 August 2004

Imperial Ethiopia used a British-style blue ensign with the Ethiopian state flag in the canton. This was the familiar green-yellow-red tricolour with the addition of the Lion of Judah holding a staff with a Christian cross on the end and the tricolour as a banner. Christian Fogd Pedersen [ped70] states baldly that this ensign was 'Modelled on the British Blue Ensign' but gives no further details.

Stuart A. Notholt, 11 February 1996

Like the State flag, the ensign was modified after Haile Selassie's overthrow (12 September 1974) by removing the crown from the lion's head and by changing the Cross finial to a Spear point.
Jaume Ollé, 6 February 1999

Imperial Standard

H.I.M Haile Selassie I Personal Standard


by David Cox, 15 August 2004	by David Cox, 15 August 2004

These are based on pictures of the funeral of his late Imperial Majesty, pictures of the Order of Solomon's Seal, and 1930's gold Ethiopian coin showing St George facing East, (similar to the British sovereign). As Haile Selassie introduced the collar to the regalia of the Order of Solomon's Seal (bringing it in to line with european practice), I would suggest that this standard is unique to Haile Selassie and his heirs.
The Ethiopia tricolour, with the Lion of Judea on one side and St George slaying the dragon on the other, each encircled by the collar of the Order of Solomon's Seal, in each corner of the standard the badge of the order (a Star of David with a cross).

David Cox, 15 August 2004

Minister of Defence

by Yared Haile Selassie, 21 August 2004

Flag the Minister of Defence used during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, a square form of the national tricolour with an emblem in the middle conisting of a circular shield infront of the spear and a rifle in slatire and in the canton the golden imperial crown.

Željko Heimer based on info by Yared Haile Selassie, 21 August 2004


from Ethiopia home page 1999	by Jaume Ollé, 6 February 1999