On September 15, 1952, Eritrea became independent from British rule and was made an autonomous part of Ethiopia. Since the United Nations had helped the country obtain independence from British rule, the 1952 Eritrean flag was designed with a light blue background to honor the organisation’s assistance. The flag at that time had an olive wreath in the center, symbolizing peace. The wreath encircled a six-leafed plant which represented the six administrative divisions of Eritrea.
After civil war broke out in Eritrea in 1961, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie banned the Eritrean flag, coat of arms, and all other government seals from public places. He annexed Eritrea in 1962 with the approval of the United Nations.
The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front fought for the country’s independence, and in January 1977, the party adopted its own official flag. The current flag of Eritrea bears resemblance to the party’s official flag. The flag had three triangles: red, blue, and green. The yellow star in the red triangle symbolized the country’s rich mineral resources, with the five points representing unity, liberation, justice, democracy, and progress. After Eritrea was proclaimed an independent nation, the flag was modified and its first official hoisting was performed on May 24, 1993. In the red triangle, a gold wreath symbol with 14 leaves on each side, derived from the 1952 flag, replaced the gold star of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front’s flag. In 1995 the number of leaves in the wreath were standardised. The 30 leaves symbolise the number of years spent in civil war before achieving independence.
The flag of Eritrea is dominated by a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side pointed toward the fly-side and then divided into two right triangles. The upper triangle is green and the lower triangle is blue with an Emblem (1952-1962) in gold (a vertical olive branch encircled by an olive wreath) centered on the hoist side of the triangle. The CIA World Factbook 2012 points out that the shape of the red triangle mimics the shape of the country.