Iraq .iq

Meaning of the Flag

Since the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, the various republican governments of Iraq have used a number of different flags, all featuring the pan-Arab colors of green, black, white, and red. The current official and internationally recognized flag of Iraq (علم العراق) was adopted in 2008 as a temporary compromise, and consists of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black stripes of the Arab Liberation Flag, that was first used by Gamal Abdel Nasser during the Egyptian Revolution, with the takbīr written in green in the Kufic script that was originally added by Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War. The choice of black as the colour of the Abbasid Revolution was already motivated by the "black standards out of Khorasan" tradition associated with the Mahdi. It was a black-white-green horizontal flag, with a red triangle extending from the mast side, inspired by the flag of the Arab Revolt. The black, white, green, and red are the Pan-Arab colors, representing pan-Arabism, with the yellow Kurdish Sun in the middle to represent the Iraqi Kurds, surrounded by the red Star of Ishtar to represent the indigenous Assyrians.

Meaning of Flag Colors

Red, Green, White, Black

Flag History

1. 1963–1991
   

   This basic tricolour has been in use since its adoption on 31 July 1963, with several changes to the green symbols on the central white stripe; the most recent version adopted on 22 January 2008 bears the takbīr rendered in dark green and removes the three green stars present since 1963.
2. 1991–2004
   

   Flag in use 1991–2004.
3. 2004–2005
   

   === Ba'athist Iraq (1963–2004) === After the 1963 Ramadan Revolution led to the overthrow of Qasim, the new government adopted a new national flag to represent the Nasserist ideology endorsed by President Abdul Salam Arif, officially replacing the flag adopted by Qasim on July 31 of 1963 with Law 28 of 1963.
4. 2008–present
   

   Current national flag, in use since 2008.

Location