The flag of the Republic of Cyprus was preceded by the flag of British Cyprus.
Upon independence, Cyprus adopted a new flag, the design of which being created through a design competition in 1960. Under the constitution, the flag should not include either blue or red colors (the colors of the flag of Greece and the flag of Turkey), nor portray a cross or a crescent. All participants deliberately avoided use of these four elements in an attempt to make the flag “neutral”.
The winning design was based on a proposal by İsmet Güney, a Turkish Cypriot art teacher. The design was chosen by Makarios III, the first President of the Republic, with the consent of Fazil Küçük, the first Vice-President.
Despite the attempt at a neutral design to promote unity among the constituent communities, this flag is most often used only by the Greek Cypriots, since it is associated by the Turkish Cypriots with the Greek-dominated Republic of Cyprus. Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the establishment of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkish-Cypriots use the Flag of Northern Cyprus.
