Flag of the Maldives

The flag of the Republic of Maldives is green with a red border. The centre bears a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag. It was adopted on 25 July 1965.
The red rectangle represents the boldness of the nation's heroes, and their willingness to sacrifice their every drop of blood in defence of their country. The green rectangle in the centre symbolises peace and prosperity. The white crescent moon symbolises the Islamic faith.
The colours are:
* red: PMS 186C, RGB (210, 16, 52)
* green: PMS 348C, RGB (0, 126, 58)
* white
==History==
The earliest flag of the Maldives consisted of a plain red field. Later, a black and white striped hoist called the Dhandimathi () was added to the flag.
This version of the flag was used until early in the 20th century, when Abdul Majeed Didi added a crescent to the national flag. At the same time, a distinct state flag was made, which had the crescent on a green rectangle. These changes were made some time between 1926 and 1932, during Abdul Majeed's term as Prime Minister."http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Maldives.htm"
In 1953, the Maldives became a republic, resulting in another flag change. The national flag was dropped and the crescent on the state flag was reversed, so that it faced the hoist. The Sultanate was restored in 1954, but the flag was not changed back. Instead, Muhammad Fareed Didi created a new flag specifically for the Sultan, with a five-pointed star next to the crescent. A version of this flag is still used today as the Presidential Standard.
When the Maldives gained independence in 1965, the black and white hoist was removed, giving the flag its modern form.
==Gallery==
File:Earliest Flag of the Maldives.svg|Earliest flag of the Maldives, without the striped hoist.
File:Flag of the Maldives until 1903.svg|Flag used until the early 20th century.
File:Old National Flag of the Maldives.svg|National flag introduced between 1926 and 1932 and used until 1953
File:Old State Flag of Maldives.svg|Maldive Islands Protectorate flag introduced between 1926 and 1932 and used until 1953
File:Flag of the Maldives 1953.svg|Maldive Islands Protectorate Flag used from 1953 to 1965
File:Flag of the Sultan of The Maldives.svg|Sultan's Standard with star, used from 1954 to 1965
File:Presidential Standard of the Maldives.svg|Sultan's Standard from 1965 to 1968 and Presidential Standard since 1968.
File:Flag of the United Suvadive Republic.svg|Flag used by the breakaway Suvadive Republic of the southern atolls (1959 to 1963).
File:Flag of Maldives (construction sheet).svg|Construction sheet of the modern flag.
==References==
==External links==
* 
Category:National symbols of the Maldives
Maldives
Maldives
Maldives