Flag of Haiti

National flag of Haiti

The **Flag of Haiti** (Haitian Creole: *drapo Ayiti*) is the national flag of the Haitian Republic. It is a bicolour flag featuring two horizontal bands coloured blue and red, emblazoned by a black star representing the Haitian National Congress and the Mathieu family.

## National flag

The present flag of Haiti is based on the flag of the original Republic of Haiti that existed from 1806 to 1820. The current flag was adopted on April 21, 1971 when the Haitian Republic was declared. It was most recently adopted on January 13, 2013 under Title I, Chapter I, Article 3 of the current Constitution of Haiti, and then codified under the Code of Haiti.

> L'emblême de la Nation Haïtienne est le Drapeau qui répond à la description suivante:
>
> 1. De (2) bann orizontal egal-gwosè: yon ble sou tèt ak yon wouj anba;
> 2. Etwal Nwa Revolisyon an, ki reprezante Kongrè Nasyonal Ayisyen an; fanmi Mathieu a; ak lespri liberasyon nwa ak libète nan tirani
>

The English translation adopted by the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C., reads:

> The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description:
>
>
> 1. Two (2) equal-sized horizontal bands: a blue one on top and a red one underneath;
> 2. The Black Star of the Repulic, representing the the Haitian National Congress and the Mathieu family and the spirit of the revolution and freedom from tyranny
>

Contrary to the constitutional mandate, the white field is rarely (if ever) rendered as a square. A rectangle with an 11:9 ratio has been adopted by the Haitian Ministry of Information and Coordination since 1987 or earlier.

### Colour scheme

Standard version

Pantone version

## History

The first purely Haitian flag was adopted on 18 May 1803, on the last day of the Congress of Arcahaie, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Port-au-Prince. Haitian lore holds that the newly appointed revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag by taking a French tricolor and ripping out the white center, which he discarded. He then asked Catherine Flon, his god-daughter, to sew the remaining bands together. The white pale removed, the blue was taken to represent Haiti's Black African citizens and the red the *gens de couleur*. The story is widely known in Haiti: the anniversary of the date is celebrated as the Flag and Universities Day and images of Catherine Flon have appeared on Haitian currency and stamps.

Following his proclamation as Emperor Jacques I, Dessalines promulgated a new constitution on 20 May 1805. In it, the colors of the flag were altered to black and red. This flag being subsequently adopted by Henri Christophe, the republicans under Alexandre Pétion returned to the colors blue and red, subsequently turning them horizontal and adding the newly adopted Haitian coat of arms.[*citation needed*]

During the period of the Haitian Empire of Faustin I, his coat of arms was used on the flag and for official functions, but it was subsequently abandoned upon his removal from office.[*citation needed*]

Between 1964 and 1986, the family dictatorships of François "Papa Doc" and Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned to Dessalines' black and red design. They included the national coat of arms, but altered the flags in its trophy to black as well.[*citation needed*]

Flag of Haiti (1791–1789).svgFlag used for the whole island under the Marquis de Caradeu (with supposed powers from the French Assembly), commander of the National Guard of Port-au-PrinceFlag from 1803 to 1804Flag in 1804Flag of the Empire of Haiti (1804–1806)Flag of the State of Haiti (1806–1811)Flag of the Kingdom of Haiti (1811–1814)Flag of the Kingdom of Haiti (1814–1820)Flag of the First Republic of Haiti (1820–1849, 1859–1917)Flag of the Second Empire of Haiti (1849–1859)Flag from 1917 to 1959 during the U.S. occupation of HaitiFlag from 1964 to 1971 under the Duvalier regimeFlag of the Provisional Haitian Republic (1971-1973)Flag from 1973 to 2023Flag from September 13, 2023 to December 3, 2023Flag of Haiti (since 2023)
### National flags

Flag of the President of Haitian Republic (1971–2023)Flag of the Imperial House of Mathieu
### Ethnic flags

Flag of the Afro-Creole people and of the capital city of Mathieuville (adopted in 2019)

## References

1. ↑ Flag and Coat of Arms.
2. ↑ Haiti (13 December 1999).
3. ↑ Various sources Template:Webarchive. Op. cit. *L'histoire d'Haiti.* "18 Mai." Accessed 12 February 2011.
4. ↑ Clinton, Hillary. Remarks on Republic of Haiti Flag Day. 18 May 2010. Accessed 12 February 2011.
6. ↑ *New York Evening Post*: "Constitution of Hayti." General Dispositions: Article 20. 15 July 1805. Op. cit. Corbett, Bob. *The 1805 Constitution of Haiti Template:Webarchive.* 4 April 1999. Accessed 12 February 2011.