Flag of Ba'athist Syria

Ba'athist Syria
Flag of the Syrian Arab Republic (1980–2024)
UseNational flag and ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagSmall vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion2:3
Adopted22 February 1958 (1958-02-22) (first used by the United Arab Republic)
30 March 1980 (1980-03-30) (readopted by the Syrian Arab Republic)[1]
Relinquished28 September 1961 (1961-09-28) (Syrian withdrawal from the United Arab Republic)
8 December 2024 (2024-12-08) (Fall of the Assad regime)
DesignA horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black, charged with two green stars at the centre.
Proportion2:3
Adopted8 March 1963 (1963-03-08)
Relinquished8 December 2024 (2024-12-08) (Fall of the Assad regime)

During the rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1963 to 2024, and later under the Assad family from 1970 until the regime's collapse in 2024, Ba'athist Syria used different national flags of Syria, all featuring a red, white, and black triband bearing either two or three green stars or the national coat of arms.

Following the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état, the Revolutionary Command Council adopted a new flag, a red–white–black horizontal triband with three green stars. The three stars represented Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, while also symbolizing the Ba'athist principles of Waḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya ("unity, freedom, and socialism"). In 1972, after Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics, the three green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish.[2][3] Upon the dissolution of the federation, Syria restored the two-star red–white–black tricolour in 1980 by readopting the former flag of the United Arab Republic to symbolize its continued commitment to Arab unity.[4] The flag had been used until 1961, when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic.[5] During the Syrian civil war, the two-star flag became closely associated with the Ba'ath Party and the government of Bashar al-Assad.[6]

The 1995 Syrian stamp commemorating the Independence Day of Syria depicts the statue of the Syrian revolutionary Yusuf al-Azma alongside the flag of Ba'athist Syria.

After the establishment of the Syrian caretaker government, it was replaced by the green–white–black tricolour with three red stars, which became the new national flag of Syria.[7][8] The green–white–black tricolour with three red stars had previously been used as the flag of the Syrian opposition during the Syrian revolution and the subsequent Syrian civil war.[9][10][11] Following the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, the two-star flag ceased to be the national flag of Syria, but it continues to be used by pro-Assad loyalists in parts of western Syria.[12]

Design

Color scheme

Color scheme

 Green White Black Red Gold
RGB 0–122–61 255–255–255 0–0–0 206–17–38 239–187–34
Hexadecimal #007A3D #FFFFFF #000000 #CE1126 #EFBB22
CMYK 89, 27, 100, 15 0, 0, 0, 0 75, 68, 67, 90 12, 100, 98, 3 7, 26, 99, 0
Pantone — White Black 186 C 7409 C
Valid for
[13] [14]

History

1963–1972

Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Flag of Ba'athist Syria (1963–1972)

Following the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état and the agreement over the formation of an United Arab Republic between Egypt, Syria, and Iraq,[15] the Revolutionary Command Council adopted a new flag, a red–white–black horizontal triband with three green stars, on 1 May 1963,[16] which remained in use until 1 January 1972.[4][17] In February 1963, the Ba'athist regime also came to power in Iraq, and the two Ba'athist governments began negotiations in Cairo to once again form a union. The process failed after the Iraqi Ba'athist government was overthrown in November 1963, but both Syria and Iraq adopted a new flag intended to represent the proposed union.[18] This flag differed only slightly from the flag of the UAR, with the two stars replaced by three to represent the addition of Iraq to the proposed federation.[4] The three stars represented the unity of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, as well as the three pillars of Ba'athism: Waḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya ("unity, freedom, and socialism").[2]

1972–1980

Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Flag of Ba'athist Syria in the Federation of Arab Republics (1972–1980)

President Hafez al-Assad adopted a new flag on 1 January 1972, as Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics. The green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish (the symbol of the tribe of Muhammad).[3] The eagle bore a ribbon bearing the name of the federation, but unlike Egypt and Libya, Syria did not include its name on the coat of arms.[3] This flag served as the official national flag during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.[4] Although the federation was dissolved in 1977, Syria continued to use the flag until 29 March 1980.[4][19]

On 30 March 1980, it was replaced by the two-star flag to symbolize Syria's continued commitment to Arab unity.[4][2]

1980–2024

Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Flag of Ba'athist Syria (1980–2024)

The national flag of Ba'athist Syria used between 1980 and 2024 was first adopted in 1958 when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic, and remained in use until 1961.[20] Since its first adoption, variations of the red–white–black flag were used in various Arab unions involving Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq.[20] Although Syria was not part of any Arab state union after 1961, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to demonstrate Syria's commitment to Arab unity.[4] The flag's use became disputed because it was often associated with the Ba'ath Party and came to represent parties loyal to Bashar al-Assad's government during the Syrian civil war.[6]

For times, the Ba'ath Party's flag was even more used than Syrian flag.[16]

The Ba'athist Syrian flag was described in Article 6 of the 2012 Constitution of Syria. The first paragraph of the article stated:

The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic consists of four colours: red, white and black, with two green stars, of five angles each. The flag is rectangular, with its width measuring two-thirds of its length. It is divided into three rectangles of identical dimensions and have the same length as the flag. The upper one is red, the middle being white and the bottom one is black, with the two green stars in the middle of the white rectangle.

— 1st Paragraph of Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution[21]

A destroyed image of Bashar al-Assad and the flag of Ba'athist Syria in Damascus following the fall of the Assad regime

Following the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, the two-star red–white–black tricolour, which Syria had restored on 30 March 1980 by readopting the former flag of the United Arab Republic, ceased to be the national flag.[4] Following the establishment of the Syrian caretaker government, it was replaced by the green–white–black tricolour with three red stars, which became the new national flag of Syria.[7][8] The United Nations also updated its list of member states to display Syria's new national flag.[22]

Other platforms, such as Microsoft Windows, still display the two-star red–white–black tricolour of Ba'athist Syria as the emoji for the Syrian Arab Republic.[23][24] Meanwhile, loyalists of the deposed Assad regime continued to use the two-star red–white–black tricolour in parts of western Syria.[25][26]

Derived flags

Armed forces flags

Other derived flags

Historical usage

Two-star flags

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ipavec, Eugene (17 March 2012). "Syria". Flags of the World. Archived from the original on 5 March 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Discover Syria" العلم السوري (in Arabic). Discover Syria. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Sergie, Lina (2003). Recollecting history : songs, flags and a Syrian square (Thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/70372. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Syrian Flag". History of Syria. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Figure 4. Flag of the United Arab Republic, 1958-61 and Syrian..." ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 14 April 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 Moubayed, Sami (6 August 2012). "Capture the Flag". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Syrians bring back independence flag with Assad's ouster". France 24. 11 December 2024. Archived from the original on 30 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 Montgomery, Samuel (9 December 2024). "Syrian 1930s independence flag flies again across the globe". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235.
  9. ↑ "Syria halts Homs siege as Arab monitors arrive". CBC News. 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Archived: Safouh Al Barazi to Orient Net: Syria is burning while the world is watching". كلنا شركاء · all4syria.microsyria. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Interview | Safouh AL BARAZI: Lifelong activist for Syrian freedom". SYRIAWISE. 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  12. ↑ Rasgon, Adam (28 December 2024). "Syria's New Government Steps up Pursuit of Assad Loyalists". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Syria flag color codes". Flag Color Codes. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Syria Flag Color Codes". Encycolorpedia. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  15. ↑ Podeh, Elie (2003). "To Unite or Not to Unite: That Is Not the Question: The 1963 Tripartite Unity Talks Reassessed". Middle Eastern Studies. 39 (1). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 150–185. ISSN 0026-3206. JSTOR 4284280. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  16. 1 2 https://www.majalla.com/node/323456/%D9%88%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%82-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B0%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF
  17. ↑ King, Stephen J. (2009). The New Authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa. Indiana University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-253-35397-9.
  18. ↑ Goodarzi, Jubin M. (2006). Syria and Iran: Diplomatic Alliance and Power Politics in the Middle East. I.B. Tauris. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-84511-127-4.
  19. ↑ "Historical Flags Since 1932 (Syria)". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Just like the flag: The logo of the Syrian National Team has also changed". Haberler.com. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "English Translation of the Syrian Constitution". Qordoba. 15 February 2012. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  22. ↑ United Nations. "Member States". UN website. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  23. ↑ "🇸🇾 Flag: Syria Emoji | Meaning, Copy And Paste". Emojipedia. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "🇸🇾 Syria Flag Emoji". Emoji List. Archived from the original on 17 February 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Rasgon, Adam (28 December 2024). "Syria's New Government Steps up Pursuit of Assad Loyalists". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  26. ↑ "المقاومة الشعبية السورية". Telegram. Archived from the original on 31 January 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
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