The green flag remained in place until 1990, when economic problems and the weakening of the Soviet Union’s power due to the Revolutions of 1989 culminated in the collapse of the People’s Republic of Benin. The socialist regime was replaced and the original flag from 1959 was reinstated on August 1, 1990.
The colors of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. As stated in the national anthem, the green of the flag represent the hope of a new democracy. The red represents the courage of the ancestors, and the yellow is for the treasures of the nation. On a continental level, the yellow, green and red represented the Pan-Africanist movement; the three colors were utilized by the African Democratic Rally, a political party representing the interests of French West Africa in the National Assembly of France at the time of decolonization. Furthermore, the colors are the same as the ones utilized in the flag of Ethiopia. This honors the oldest independent country in Africa and the only nation other than Liberia to remain independent during the Scramble for Africa.