Flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire

The flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire is a blue flag with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center.

At the hoist edge is a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars.

The six gold stars are said to represent the original provinces of Congo, formerly Zaire.

The big star in the center of the flag is three times the height of the smaller columnar stars.

From the edge of the flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire, to the upper point of the first columnar star is equal to half the size of these columnar stars.

The space between the hoist edge of the flag to the first star is also half the size of the columnar stars.

Differences in the flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire

The exact shade of the blue color in the first independent flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire was never specified.

As a result, you may see flags of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire with a light or medium shades of blue.

However, the darker blue is more appropriate for the actual national flag color.

The original official descriptions of the flag do say a dark blue color.

Subsequently, the records have been changed and specified a Pantone color which is the darker blue color.

The flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire has a size ratio of 2:3 and was adopted in May 1997.

The Kabila military forces flew it during a successful coup d'etat.

History of the Flag of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, is the third largest country on the African continent.

The central part of the country sits on top of the Equator.

The area had inhabitants over 10,000 years ago. In the 7th and 8th centuries, it had tribal settlements.

By 1492, a Portuguese navigator, Diego Cao, and an English journalist, Henry Morton Stanley, visited and explored this area.

Henry Stanley was commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium to explore this Congo Basin area.

The area was colonized in 1885 and declared a personal possession of Belgian King Leopold II.

They called the area the Congo Free State.

It was the Belgians who brought the French language to this country and for this reason one can learn French in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and use your French language skills there.

The Belgium tri-color flag had three vertical banners of black on the hoist side, yellow in the center, and red on the outside.

In 1907, administration of this country shifted to the Belgian Government.

They renamed it the Belgian Congo. After a number of riots and general unrest, the Belgian Congo gained independence from Belgium in June 1960.

Parliamentary elections in 1960 created a President and a prime minister.

The country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The country has continued to have numerous assassinations, civil wars, and coups.

Bloodshed followed dictators, rebellions, and brutal murders.

Within the first year, the country required a UN peacekeeping force to restore order. In 1965, general in the national army named Mobutu seized control and declared himself President.

With centralized control and no opponents, Mobutu Sese Seko was elected as president in 1970.

He renamed the country the Republic of Zaire.

The Zaire flag was a light green flag, round cycle at the center of the flag.

The circle was yellow and had a right hand arising from the bottom of the circle. The hand held a torch with a red flame.

This flag was adopted on 19th November 1971 when the parliament adopted the revision of their constitution.

Peace prevailed until 1978 when rebels launched a new series of invasions. The invading armies were driven out with the aid of Belgian paratroopers.

After much pressure from inside and outside the country, Mobutu agreed to a multi-party system with elections and a constitution in May 1990.

The reform was delayed and soldiers began looting to protest that their wages were unpaid.

Two thousand French and Belgian troops restored order.

In 1992, the Sovereign National Conference was held with representatives from various political parties.

After failed peace talks with Kabila, Mobutu left the country in May 1997.

Kabila named himself the new president.

The country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The country’s new flag was a blue flag with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center.

At the hoist edge, is a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars.

by Linda Chambers