The flag of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

was adopted on April 18, 1980. The soapstone bird

Zimbabwe Bird

The stone-carved Zimbabwe Bird is a national emblem of Zimbabwe, appearing on the national flags and coats of arms of both Zimbabwe and Rhodesia, as well as on banknotes and coins...

 featured on the flag represents a statuette of a bird found at the ruins of Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from 1100 to 1450 C.E. during the country’s Late Iron Age. The monument, which first began to be constructed in the 11th century and which continued to be built until the 14th century, spanned an...

. The bird symbolises the history of Zimbabwe; the red star beneath it symbolises the revolutionary struggle for liberation and peace.

Colours

Officially, the meanings of the colours on the flag are as follows:

• Green: the agriculture and rural areas of Zimbabwe
• Yellow: the wealth of minerals in the country
• Red: the blood shed during the first and second Chimurenga
  Chimurenga
  Chimurenga is a Shona word for 'revolutionary struggle'. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice, specifically used for the African insurrections against British colonial rule 1896–1897 and the guerrilla war...
  
   (wars)
• Black: the heritage and ethnicity of the native Africans of Zimbabwe
• White Triangle: peace
• Zimbabwe Bird: the national symbol of Zimbabwe
• Red Star: the nation's hopes and aspirations for the future (as well as ZANU-PF's socialist beliefs)

The colours are used on the flag of the ruling ZANU PF party.

Flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia

Zimbabwe Rhodesia

Zimbabwe Rhodesia

Zimbabwe Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, was an unrecognized state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 12 December 1979...

 was the largely unrecognised name of Zimbabwe from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, soon after the Internal Settlement

Internal Settlement

The Internal Settlement was the agreement between Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and Abel Muzorewa in 1978.-Negotiations:Fed up with the sanctions leveled against Rhodesia by the international community and outright political pressure from South Africa, Great Britain and the United States, the...

 in Rhodesia

Rhodesia

Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

 leading to a black majority government. As well as a new name, the state adopted a new flag to mark the transition.

The flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia was designed by Flight Lieutenant Cedric Herbert of the Rhodesian Air Force and a member of the Rhodesian Heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 and Genealogy

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

 Society. The design incorporated the pan-African colours of yellow, black, green and red with the following explanation:

• Black: symbolised the achievement of majority rule in the country,
• Red: was for the struggle for independence,
• Yellow: represented the mineral wealth,
• Green: the agricultural and natural resources of the country,
• The vertical white stripe represented the white community while the central horizontal white stripe represents peace.

See also

• List of Zimbabwean flags
• Flag of Rhodesia
  Flag of Rhodesia
  The Flag of Rhodesia changed many times as a result of political changes in the country.Prior to 1953, the then Southern Rhodesia followed British colonial practice, by using a Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and the shield from the colony's coat of arms in the fly.In 1953, Southern...