See also: List of flags of Kosovo

Flag of Kosovo

Use	State flag. The following is a list of flags of Kosovo. State flag Governmental flag Flags of Kosovo when under UN administration The design and description of Flags typically uses specialised flag terminology' with precise and technical meanings and is hence a form of Jargon. There are two separate meanings for the term state flag in Vexillology – the flag of state of a Government, and the flag of an individual subnational state A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification
Proportion	2:3[1]
Adopted	February 17, 2008
Design	Blue with six white stars in an arc above a gold-coloured map of Kosovo in the center. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo following the unilateral declaration of independence of the Republic of Kosovo from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (Kuvendi i Kosovës Скупштина Косова Skupština Kosova) is an institution within the Provisional Institutions The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was an act of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government Assembly of Kosovo, adopted on 17 February 2008 which declared Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The flag is partly the result of an international design competition, organized by the United Nations-backed provisional government, which attracted almost a thousand entries. A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (Institucionet e përkohshme të vetëqeverisjes Serbian: Привремене институције самоуправе The competition rules insisted that the final design must not use ethnic or national symbols or colour schemes in order to ensure that it represented all citizens of Kosovo. The now-used design is a variant of one proposal designed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo on a blue field. ^{[2] [3]} They are officially meant to symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups^[4]: Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Gorani, Roma (often grouped with the Ashkali and Egyptians^[5]) and Bosniaks. } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language Serbs ( Serbian: Срби Srbi) are a South Slavic people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, The Turkish people (Türk Halkı also known as " Turks " ( Türkler) are defined mainly as being speakers of Turkish as a First language The Goran or Gorani are a Balkan Ethnic group characterised by their adherence to Islam and by their dwelling in the border region between Albania The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins The Ashkali (also Aschkali, Hashkali, Aškalije (Ашкалије Haškalije (Хашкалије are an Albanian speaking Balkan Egyptians or simply Egyptians (Egjiptian Египћани Egipćani or Ђупци Đupci; Египќанци Egipkjanci or Ѓупци The Bosniaks or Bosniacs (Bošnjak pl Bošnjaci bɔ'ʃɲaːt͡si are a South Slavic people living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Bosnia" However, some opponents of Kosovar independence feel that the stars represent each territory that extremist Albanians desire to fashion into a "Greater Albania" ^[6]. The term Greater Albania or Great Albania refers to land which is outside the borders of the Republic of Albania that Albanian nationalists claim as their own because

The flag of Kosovo resembles the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of colours and shapes used (white stars and yellow shape of the country on a blue field). The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow Isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the

Flags used by ethnic groups in Kosovo

The population of Kosovo is made up of many ethnic groups including Albanians (92%), Serbs (4%), Slavic Muslims (Bosniaks and Gorani) (2%), REA communities (Romani, Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians (1%) and Turks (1%). } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language Serbs ( Serbian: Срби Srbi) are a South Slavic people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, The Bosniaks or Bosniacs (Bošnjak pl Bošnjaci bɔ'ʃɲaːt͡si are a South Slavic people living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Bosnia" The Goran or Gorani are a Balkan Ethnic group characterised by their adherence to Islam and by their dwelling in the border region between Albania The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins The Ashkali (also Aschkali, Hashkali, Aškalije (Ашкалије Haškalije (Хашкалије are an Albanian speaking Balkan Egyptians or simply Egyptians (Egjiptian Египћани Egipćani or Ђупци Đupci; Египќанци Egipkjanci or Ѓупци The Turkish people (Türk Halkı also known as " Turks " ( Türkler) are defined mainly as being speakers of Turkish as a First language Members of these communities use a variety of flags.

The flag of Albania is used by the ethnic Albanian majority of the Kosovo population. The national flag of Albania is a red flag with a black Two-headed eagle in the center [7]	The flag of Serbia is used by the Serbian minority and in Serbian enclaves. The flag of Serbia is a Tricolour with Pan-Slavic colours, with three equal horizontal fields Red on the top Blue in the middle [7]	The former flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina is popular symbol used by Bosniaks. The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow Isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the [8]	The Flag of the Romani people. The Romani flag ( O styago le romengo in Romani) is the international flag of the Romani people.
The Flag of Turkey used by the Turkish community and by some Gorani. The flag of Turkey consists of a white crescent moon and a Star on a Red background [9]

Flag use during United Nations administration

Flag of the United Nations, used for official and government purposes in Kosovo until February 17, 2008. The flag of the United Nations was adopted on October 20, 1947, and consists of the official emblem of the United Nations in white on a blue background

During administration by the United Nations Kosovo had no provincial flag. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Whenever an official flag was needed, the United Nations' flag was flown. The flag of the United Nations was adopted on October 20, 1947, and consists of the official emblem of the United Nations in white on a blue background

International negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo (See Kosovo status process). During and after the breakup of Yugoslavia there were increasing ethnic and regional conflicts culminating in the Kosovo War of 1999 Most ethnic-Albanians would otherwise display the Albanian flag, whilst Serbs would use the Serbian flag. The national flag of Albania is a red flag with a black Two-headed eagle in the center Serbs ( Serbian: Срби Srbi) are a South Slavic people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, The flag of Serbia is a Tricolour with Pan-Slavic colours, with three equal horizontal fields Red on the top Blue in the middle There is no current or historic national, provincial or regional flag that represents Kosovo's territory. However an Albanian flag with the red star outlined in yellow is erroneously reported as a historical flag while in fact this was the flag of the ethnic Albanian community in Socialist Yugoslavia (mainly in Kosovo). The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: ^[10]

Competition for a new flag

A competition for a new flag, held in June 2007, received 993 entries. Under the terms of UN talks, all such symbols would have to reflect the multi-ethnic nature of Kosovo,^[11] avoiding the use of the Albanian or Serbian double-headed eagles or the use of solely red and black or red, blue and white colour schemes. Additionally, all entries had to be rectangular and have a 2:3 proportion. A total of 700 proposals met these criteria. A group of Kosovo politicians and experts known as the "Unity Team" selected three designs which were then voted on by the Assembly of Kosovo (with a two-thirds majority required for approval), when independence was declared after the status talks. The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (Kuvendi i Kosovës Скупштина Косова Skupština Kosova) is an institution within the Provisional Institutions ^[12]

The three proposals selected were forwarded to the Assembly on 4 February 2008. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^{[13] [14]}

The proposals and final choice

• Blue field with a white map of Kosovo surrounded by five stars. The stars vary in size and represent the different ethnic groups that reside in Kosovo. The largest star would represent ethnic Albanians. Inspired by the Flag of Europe. The Flag of Europe is the flag and emblem of the European Union (EU and Council of Europe (CoE ^[15]

• A vertical tricolour of black, white and red. ^[16]

• A vertical tricolour of black, white and red with a spiral (Dardanian symbol of the rotating sun) in the center of the white stripe. ^{[17] [18]}

The assembly voted on 17 February 2008 to use a variant of the first proposal. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The modified version has an additional star, makes the stars equal in size, switches the colors of the stars and map, makes the map bigger, and arranges the stars in a curve above the map. ^[2] The flag's use of a map of Kosovo makes it only the fourth country to have a map of the country on its flag. Cyprus's current flag, as well as Bangladesh's original flag and Cambodia's flag under UNTAC were the first three. The Flag of Cyprus came into use on August 16, 1960 under the Zürich and London Agreements whereby a constitution was drafted and Cyprus was Origin The original flag was designed by painter Quamrul Hassan. The national flag of Cambodia was readopted in 1993 after elections returned the monarchy to rule The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia ( UNTAC) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992-93 For sporting events, the Korean Unification Flag uses a map of the Korean peninsula. The Unification Flag is used to represent all of Korea when North and South Korea participate together in sporting events ^[19]

Final flag, as chosen by Assembly on 17 February 2008

Original proposal of the adopted flag design. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

Alternative proposal

Alternative proposal

Other proposals

Ibrahim Rugova, the first president of Kosovo introduced the "flag of Dardania" on October 29, 2000. Prof Dr Ibrahim Rugova ( December 2, 1944 – January 21, 2006) was a politician of Albanian descent who was the first The President of the Republic of Kosovo (Kryetari i Kosovës or Serbian: sr-Cyrl председник Косова is Head of State of the Republic The flag with the Albanian eagle bears the legend "Dardania", the name of an ancient region in the same general area as Kosovo, but is not officially recognized by any international power. The Dardani ( Ancient Greek Δαρδάνιοι were a Thraco-Illyrian tribe ^[20] This flag did not gain much popularity. ^[21] but was occasionally used at cultural and sports events during the UNMIK period. It was also used at Rugova's funeral.

Prior to the declaration of independence, Kosovans displayed a flag featuring a map of Kosovo against a blue and yellow background, similar to the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow Isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the ^[22]

The "Flag of Dardania", proposed by Ibrahim Rugova, occasionally flown at sporting events and festivities during the UNMIK period. The Dardani ( Ancient Greek Δαρδάνιοι were a Thraco-Illyrian tribe [23]

See also

• List of flags of Kosovo
• Coat of arms of Kosovo
• National anthem of Kosovo
• Flag of Albania

References

External links

• "The Comprehensive proposal for Kosovo Status Settlement" by UNOSEK
• http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=05&dd=30&nav_category=93&nav_id=41493