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The basic design of the
Benin flag was
adopted in November 1959, at that time Benin was a self-governing
French
territory known as the Republic of Dahomey.
The flag remained
unchanged when independence
was achieved in August 1960.
In December 1974, the President of
Dahomey advised the people that the nation was henceforth a Marxist/Leninist state and in 1975 a
new name was adopted, the country becoming the People's Republic of Benin.
The new state
intended to adopt a new national flag, but with the collapse of
communism around the globe in the
1980s, the original flag continued to fly unaltered over the country.
The nation is now known
as the Republic of Benin and the current flag dates from the 1st of
August 1990.
The green, yellow
and red used in the flag are known as the pan-African colours and have
been adopted by many African ex-colonies, they symbolise African
independence and unity.
It is believed the colours
originated from the flag of Ethiopia, the oldest independent nation in
Africa. |
