Flag of Cyprus
The flag of the Republic of Cyprus represents the Republic of Cyprus since the invasion of the Turkish armed forces from 20 July 1974 to the proclamation of the - of the international community still not recognized - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on 18 November 1983, de facto only the southern part of the island controlled.
Description and significance
The flag of the Republic of Cyprus is white with an image of the island. The color of the island figure refers to the metal is copper, which was already 3000 BC discovered in Cyprus and is named after the island. In the island there are two olive branches. They stand for the two communities in Cyprus and their peaceful coexistence.
There are few national flags showing the country outline. Other examples would be the flag of Bangladesh 1971-1972 and since 2008 the flag of Kosovo. Other national flags stylize geographical events of the country, for example, shows the Flag of Tuvalu, the arrangement of the islands as stars.
History
According to the Constitution of 1960, the flag of the newly independent state should be selected jointly by the President and Vice President of the Republic and be neutral in color and design, so remember neither the Greek nor the Turkish flag. The selected design in a competition comes from the Turkish Cypriot artists İsmet Güney Vehit ( 1932-2009 ).
Güney was awarded by the then President Archbishop Makarios 500 Cyprus pounds as prize money of the selection competition.
A few months a slightly modified design was used. Here, the outline of the island were presented golden, but the island surface white.
Other flags in the Republic of
The police used a blue flag with a white emblem, wearing a blue version of the coat of arms of the Republic.
The car standard of the President of the Republic is a square version of the national flag.
Widely used are unofficial own creations, in which Greek and Cypriot icons are linked together with the Greeks in the Republic. One example is a flag with a white cross on a blue background. In the center of the cross the outline of the island in yellow are shown.
Car standard of the President during a visit to Germany, 1962