Flag of Mauritius

Republic of Mauritius

The Four Bands, Les Quatre Bandes
Use	National flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	March 12, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-03-12)
Design	Four horizontal bands of red, blue, yellow and green.
Designed by	Gurudutt Moher
Use	Civil ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A red field with the national flag in and the coat of arms in a white circle on the fly side.
Use	State ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A navy blue field with the national flag in the canton corner, with the coat of arms on the fly side of the flag.
Use	Naval ensign
Proportion	26:57
Design	A white field with a blue band on each side, followed by two red stripes with the middle red stripe being thinner, charged with an anchor with a gold five-pointed star above it.
Use	Presidential standard
Proportion	2:3
Design	The national flag with a white circle, within it the coat of arms, below it, a golden wreath and the letters RM.

The national flag of Mauritius, also known as the The Four Bands (Les Quatre Bandes), was adopted upon independence, 12 March 1968. It consists of four horizontal bands of equal width, coloured (from top to bottom) red, blue, yellow, and green. The flag was recorded at the College of Arms in London on 9 January 1968.

The flag was designed by Gurudutt Moher whose contribution was recognised posthumously in March 2018 in the form of the national title Member of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (MSK).^[1] Moher, who was a retired school teacher, died of a heart attack on 7 October 2017, at the age of 93.^[2]

The civil ensign (for private vessels) and government ensign (for state vessels) are red and blue flags, respectively, each with the national flag in the canton and the coat of arms of Mauritius in the fly. They are based on the British Red and Blue Ensigns.

The naval ensign (used by coast guard vessels) is an unusual design consisting of red, white, and blue vertical stripes of unequal widths defaced by a central anchor/key emblem.

Colours

The flag of Mauritius consists of red, blue, yellow and green bands which officially stand for:^[3]

• Red represents the struggle for freedom and independence.
• Blue represents the Indian Ocean, in which Mauritius is situated.
• Yellow represents the light of freedom shining over the island.
• Green represents the agriculture of Mauritius and its colour throughout the 12 months of the year.

In an attempt to unite the nation, especially following the deadly and divisive riots of 1965 and those of 1968, the colours also have political origins. Indeed, the colours also represent the main political parties which existed at the time, namely:^[4]

• Red: Parti Travailliste, a social-democrat party
• Blue: PMSD, conservative
• Yellow: IFB, socialist, Indo-Mauritian
• Green: CAM, Islamist

The official colour codes of the flag are in accordance with the Mauritius Standard Bureau.^[5]

Colour; Pantone Fashion home cotton

• Red 18-1664TC or 185 C
• Blue 19-3939TC or 295 C
• Yellow 14-0957TC or 116 C
• Green 17-6030TC or 356 C

(1968–present)	Red	Blue	Yellow	Green
Pantone	1788c	2756c	115c	2257c
CMYK	0-85-77-8	83-76-0-57	0-16-100-0	100-0-52-35
RGB	235-36-54	19-26-109	255-214-0	0-166-80
Hexadecimal	#EB2436	#131A6D	#FFD600	#00A650

Sizes

The official sizes of the flag are in accordance with the Mauritius Standard Bureau; standard MS.1-1:2011. The flag size is in the ratio of 2:3.

Type of Flag	Width×Height (mm)	Height of each colour Band (mm)
Mast Flag	1800×1200	300
Desk Flag/hand held flag	150×100	25
Car Flag	300×200	50

Historical flags

• 
  Dutch Mauritius; Flag of the Dutch East India Company (1638–1710)
• 
  French Mauritius; Royal Standard of the King of France (1715–1792)
• 
  French Mauritius; Flag of France (1792–1810)
• 
  British Mauritius colonial flag (1810-1869)
• 
  British Mauritius colonial flag (1869-1906)
• 
  British Mauritius colonial flag (1906-1923)
• 
  British Mauritius colonial flag (1923-1968)
• 
  British Mauritius colonial civil ensign (1906-1968)

See also

• List of Mauritian flags

References

1. "Décorés de la République: le père de notre quadricolore enfin reconnu". L'Express. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
3. The Government Gazette of Mauritius (2015). "THE NATIONAL FLAG ACT 2015" (PDF). The Government Gazette of Mauritius. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
4. Mohamed, Yousuf (25 February 2018). "Video 6: Interview of Yousuf Mohamed, Lawyer". Rogers Capital. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
5. "MS 1 National Flag" (PDF). Mauritius Standard Bureau. October 2008. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2014.

External links

• Mauritius at Flags of the World