The flag of Romania
Drapelul României · since 1989
Back to RomaniaA vertical tricolour of blue, yellow and red, blue at the hoist, with no emblem. The colours were first set together as a national flag by the Wallachian revolutionaries of 1848 and fixed in this order in 1867. The communist state added its arms to the yellow stripe, and protesters in December 1989 cut them out, which left the plain tricolour that was restored that month.
At a glance
- Adopted
- 1989
- Proportion
- 2:3
- Colours
- Earlier flags
- 10
The colours
The colours of the flag of Romania, in the order it has them
- 0133.4%
Cobalt blue
albastru cobaltHoist stripe
- HEX
#002B7F- RGB
0 43 127- CMYK
100 70 0 10- Pantone
280 C- RAL
5002
- 0233.4%
Chrome yellow
galben cromMiddle stripe
- HEX
#FCD116- RGB
252 209 22- CMYK
0 10 95 0- Pantone
116 C- RAL
1018
- 0333.1%
Vermilion red
roșu vermillonFly stripe
- HEX
#CE1126- RGB
206 17 38- CMYK
0 90 80 5- Pantone
186 C- RAL
3028
No law gives these codes. HEX and RGB are the colour this site draws the flag in; CMYK, Pantone and RAL are the values most often published for it.
Construction
How the flag is drawn
Three vertical stripes of equal width, blue at the hoist, yellow in the middle and red at the fly, with no emblem.
- Stripes
- Three, vertical, each a third of the length
- Order
- Blue at the hoist, then yellow, then red
Other forms
- Military colours
- Double silk, 100 × 66 cm, with the national coat of arms on the yellow stripe, gold oak wreaths round the branch insignia in the corners, and gold fringes and tassels.
- Presidential flag
- A square tricolour with a white edge and a blue border, fringed and tasselled in gold thread.
- Naval jack
- An anchor on light blue with the national flag in the canton.
Meaning
What each part stands for
- Blue, yellow and red
- Given during the 1821 uprising of Tudor Vladimirescu as Liberty (the blue of the sky), Justice (the yellow of the fields) and Fraternity (the red of blood)
- The three colours together
- Described in 1867 by Mihail Kogălniceanu as the flag of the Romanian nation in all the lands inhabited by Romanians, more than the flag of the United Principalities
History
How the flag of Romania got here
- 1834
Wallachia's first tricolour
1834 → 1848
Alexandru II Ghica submitted military and naval flags to Sultan Mahmud II, one of them red, blue and yellow with stars and a bird's head. The yellow soon moved to the centre.
- 1848
The revolution of 1848
26 Jun 1848 → 1848
Decree No. 1 of the provisional government gave the national flag three colours, blue, yellow and red, blue on top, with the motto "Justice, Fraternity". Decree No. 252 of 25 July set the stripes vertical, blue at the pole. The old flags returned when the revolution was put down.
- 1859
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia
1859 → 1862
A horizontal tricolour, red above, yellow in the middle, blue below, flown without Ottoman permission.
- 1862
United Principalities of Romania
1862 → 1866
The horizontal red, yellow and blue tricolour of the united state.
- 1867
The vertical tricolour
26 Mar 1867 → 30 Dec 1947
The Constitution of 1866 named the colours, and the Assembly of Deputies set them vertical in the 1848 order on 26 March 1867, on a proposal by Nicolae Golescu. The arms appeared only on army and princely flags.
- 1948
People's Republic
Jan 1948 → Mar 1948
The royal arms were outlawed when the republic was proclaimed on 30 December 1947, and the new arms of a tractor and furnaces were set on the yellow stripe.
- 1948
The 1948 arms
1948 → 1952
The Constitution of 1948 described the flag as blue, yellow and red, vertical, with the arms in the middle.
- 1952
The 1952 arms
1952 → 1965
The arms redrawn under the Constitution of 1952.
- 1965
Socialist Republic of Romania
1965 → 27 Dec 1989
The arms of the Socialist Republic on the yellow stripe, set in detail by Decree No. 972 of 5 November 1968. In use for 24 years.
- 1989
The flag with a hole
Dec 1989 → 27 Dec 1989
From 17 December 1989 in Timișoara, protesters cut the communist arms out of the yellow stripe. Such flags still appear at protests.
- 1989
The tricolour restoredIn use
27 Dec 1989 → today
Decree-Law No. 2 of the National Salvation Front restored the plain tricolour of 1867. Law No. 75/1994 fixed its proportions and Law No. 176/2023 its exact shades.
The law
What defines it, and who flies it
- 27 December 1989
Decree-Law No. 2 of 27 December 1989 on the Council of the National Salvation Front, Article 1
Declared the flag to be the traditional tricolour, the colours set vertically from the hoist in the order blue, yellow, red.
- Undated
Constitution of Romania, Article 12(1)
Describes the flag as a tricolour with the colours set vertically from the hoist: blue, yellow, red.
- 16 July 1994
Law No. 75/1994
Sets the 2:3 proportion, the equal stripes and the protocol. Named the colours cobalt blue, chrome yellow and vermilion red without further detail.
- 20 May 1998
Law No. 96/1998
Proclaims 26 June the Day of the National Flag.
- 2001
Government Decision No. 1157/2001
Regulations on displaying the flag, with fines for flying it in the wrong form or failing to fly it.
- 19 June 2023
Law No. 176/2023
Amends Law No. 75/1994 to give exact shades in Pantone, CMYK and RGB, and forbids adding inscriptions or symbols not approved by law or military regulation.
In use
Always flown on the buildings of public authorities and institutions, political parties, unions, schools and cultural institutions, at border crossings and international airports
Flown permanently as the ensign of every vessel under the Romanian flag
May be flown by individuals at home and by companies at their headquarters
Lowered to half-staff on days of national mourning, which only the government sets
Flown in the place of honour when foreign flags are hoisted with it, and foreign flags may be flown only with it
Flag Day is 26 June, the date of Decree No. 1 of 1848
Related flags
The flags it is confused with or comes from
Chad- Almost the same flag, differing in a darker blue. Chad asked the United Nations to examine the matter in 2004, and Romania kept its flag.
Moldova- Inspired by the Romanian tricolour, in a 1:2 ratio, slightly different colours and with the Moldovan arms in the middle.
Andorra- The same tricolour, which came about independently.
Coat of arms
The arms of Romania
