Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)

Republic of the Congo; République du Congo; Repubilika ya Kongo; Republiki ya Kongó

Last modified: 2017-05-26 by bruce berry
Keywords: congo | brazzaville | pan-african |
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2:3~.  Image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 25 April 2015

Flag originally adopted 18 August 1959, re-adopted 10 June 1991, coat of arms adopted 10 June 1991.

• Background
• Original and current flag
• National Flag in the Constitution
• Flag Specifications
• National Flag in the National Anthem

See also:

• Republic of Congo - national index
• Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa)
• People's Republic of Congo (1969-1991)

Background

The territory known today as the Republic of Congo (or Congo - Brazzaville to distinguish it from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo or Congo - Kinshasa) is located west-central Africa and came under French sovereignty in the 1880s when the Frenchman Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza signed a treaty with Makoko, ruler of the Bateke people.  The area became part of French Equatorial Africa (Afrique-Equatoriale-française) which existed between 1910 to 1958 as the federation of the four colonies of Gabon, Moyen-Congo (now the Republic of Congo), Oubangui-Chari (now the Central African Republic), and Chad.  Brazzaville (named after de Brazza), in the Moyen-Congo, was selected as the federal capital.  Following a French referendum in September 1958, the Afrique-Equatoriale-française was dissolved and the various territories became autonomous members of the French Community.  Moyen-Congo was renamed the Republic of Congo and adopted a new flag.  Formal independence was granted  on 15 August 1960.

Following a Marxist revolution in 1964, a one party state was established in December 1969 and the country was renamed the People’s Republic of  Congo and a new flag based on the that of the former Soviet Union was adopted.  At the National Conference for the Restoration of Democracy held in 1991, multiparty democracy was restored and it was also decided to re-adopt the original flag, arms and national anthem.
Bruce Berry, 12 Mar 2011

The Original (1959 - 1969) and Current Flag (1991 - )

On the 15 August 1960 the Republic gained its full independence and kept the same flag.  

The flag was abolished on 30 December 1969 when a new constitution introduced a Marxist one-party state under the name of the People's Republic of  Congo and a new flag was adopted.  With the restoration of multiparty democracy, the original flag was re-adopted as the national flag on 10 June 1991.
Dov Gutterman, 11 January 1999 and Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 25 April 2015

National Flag in the Constitution

The Constitution of 1992 (Constitution de la République du Congo-Brazzaville Examinée par le Conseil Supérieur de la République le 20 Décembre 1991 et adoptée au Référendum du 15 Mars 1992) determines the flag in Article 2 (English text from CongoWeb :

L'Album (1995) gives ratio of the flag as 2:3~, while Bartram's World Flag Database and the Shipmate Flag Chart have it 2:3 exactly.
Željko Heimer, 26 May 2001

The 1992 Constitution was abolished in 1997 and replaced by a Fundamental Act. It's Article 2 says:

Article 2. L'emblème national de la République est le Drapeau tricolore, Vert, Jaune, Rouge - De forme rectangulaire, il est composé de deux triangles de couleur verte et rouge, séparés par une bande jaune en diagonale, le vert étant du côté de la hampe. L'hymne national est "La Congolaise". La devise de la République est "Unité - Travail - Progrès". La langue officielle est le français. Le sceau de l'État et les Armoiries sont définies par la loi.

Article 2. The national emblem of the republic is the green, yellow, red tricolour. Of rectangular shape, its made of two triangles, green and red separated by a yellow diagonal stripe, the green being on the hoist. The national anthem is "La Congolaise". The national motto is "Unité - Travail - Progrès". The official language is French. The state seal and the coat of arms are defined by Law.

There is no mention of a flag law.  The description gives many graphical possibilities.
J.-F. Blanc, 6 August 2001

There is a newer Constitution for the Republic of the Congo. It is dated 20 January 2002 and reads as follows regarding the flag:

Title l, Article 5:

"The national emblem is a tricolour flag in green, yellow and red. In a rectangular form, it is composed of two regular triangles of green and red separated by a diagonal yellow stripe. The green part is next to the hoist.
The precise dimensions, colour shades and other details of the flag are prescribed by law."

I have been unable to locate any legislation regarding this flag (as referred to in the Constitution of 1992). I have, however, managed to obtain an official model. The model itself (containing no surprises) is unfortunately undated, but the accompanying letter from The Ministry of Information, Brazzaville, is dated 02 December 1999 and shows a flag with a rising diagonal stripe contained entirely within the length of the flag and occupying one-third of that length. I have, of course, no way of confirming the accuracy of its colour reproduction, but when compared to my Pantone chart the nearest equivalents appear to be red 032, yellow 109 and green 354.
Christopher Southworth, 30 January 2005

Flag specifications

I have managed to find the specifications of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) flag.  The specifications from 1959 and gives the flag's proportions as 120 x 180 cm and the gold band takes 60 cm and arches its way to the top at that same point (0 to 60 from the bottom hoist to 120 to 180 on the top fly).  The green and red sections take 120x120 cm.

The document can be found at this website under the title "Loi constitutionnelle n° 8 du 18 août 1959, fixant le drapeau de la République du Congo."
Zachary Harden, 20 Nov 2014

The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems Manual, London, 2012 [bib-lna.html]) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each National Olympic Committee was sent an image of their flag, including the PMS shades, by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) for their approval. Once this was obtained, the LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specifications may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the National Olympic Committee believed their flag to be.

For the Congo : PMS 109 yellow, 355 green, 032 red. The vertical flag is simply the horizontal version in proportion 5:3.
Ian Sumner, 10 Oct 2012

National Flag in the National Anthem