Kosovo: President's flag

Last modified: 2023-09-02 by rob raeside
Keywords: kosovo | president's flag |
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• Background
• Flag used by Ibrahim Rugova

See also:

• Dardania
• Kosovo

Background

At the 2006 news about President Rugova's death, the Swedish TV showed some pictures from December 2005 - Rugova's last public appearance. The President was inside, and in the background in the room some flags were shown - the "Dardania" flag, as well as the Albanian, European Union and USA flags.
I visited Kosovo five times between March and June 2005. I visited Priština, Prizren, Ferizaj/Urozevac, and a few villages between these towns and the [North] Macedonian and Albanian border, and only for one- or two-day visits. I never saw the "Dardania" flag. The usual Albanian flag was flown everywhere. The European Union and USA flags where also very frequently seen. At the border crossings to Macedonia and Albania, the United Nation flag was the the only one to bee seen.

Christian Berghänel, 23 January 2006

On the news was a report of the funeral of Rugova. On the memorial table was a picture of him, behind which you could see the "Dardania" flag, only with a darker ring betwen the blue and gold).
On a plaque that was shown next, there were two seals over some text. One was what looked like the Albanian coat of arms and to its right the circular seal from the "Dardania flag". Around it were the words "Seal of the president of Kosovo" (in English for some reason I can't fathom). Therefore, the "Dardania flag" could be a kin of presidential flag.

Marc Pasquin, 23 January 2006

In April this year I had the chance to visit Kosovo again (at two different occasions). The flag-situation was almost the same as last spring, that Albanian, UN, USA, European Union, NATO flags where widely seen (except when crossing the Mitrovica bridge to the northern/Serbian side of the Ibar river, where a huge Serbian flag with the coat of arms was the first thing to be seen). However, in Priština I actually saw the Dardania flag once! It was hanging from the wall outside a public building.

Christian Berghänel, 15 October 2006

[Reporter] Even sports have not been able to avoid the issue of symbols. The Kosova football team, who wore black and red colours, used the president's flag during a tour to Turkish Cyprus. According to Ministry officials this was recommended by Minister Astrit Haracia.

The "president's flag" is apparently the blue flag used abundantly by Ibrahim Rugova, but it was formally never "the presidential flag", of course.

Željko Heimer, 13 February 2008

For additional information go to President Kosovo Government (official website): https://president-ksgov.net/
Esteban Rivera, 16 December 2022

Flag used by Ibrahim Rugova

  images by Esteban Rivera, 16 December 2022
based on photo

The flag is locally known as "Flamuri i Dardanisë" (English: Flag of Dardania).

Currently, the official website of the "Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës" (English: President of the Republic of Kosovo) not only features this flag as official in use, but it also portrays the same design which is the coat of arms over a blue background.

The coat of arms is a set of three concentric circles (red inner circle; blue the middle circle and red outer circle), each one separated by a golden fringe (the first from the inside out being smaller in width), in the middle including the double-headed black eagle with the inscription #DARDANIA" over another coat of arms featuring four divisions and two golden wheels (top left and bottom right) and red on the second quarter and black on the third quarter, and on top a six-pointed golden star with black fringe. It bears the inscription "Vula e Presidentit të Republikës së Kosovës" (English: Seal of the President of the Republic of Kosovo).

There has been a longstanding debate as to whether to acknowledge this coat of arms as either the personal seal of Ibrahim Rugova or the republic itself, as already discussed and that is up to the local authorities to determine. For example, in a recent change of events, (now former) President (2016-2020) Hashim Thaçi issued a new legislation on Decorations (https://president-ksgov.net/sq/dekoratat) in 2016, which currently does not feature such coat of arms on the official documents when granting Decorations. This legislation seems to have changed
again in 2018 (https://president-ksgov.net/repository).

The so called flag of Dardania was introduced as early as 1992 (source: https://indeksonline.net) when Ibrahim Rugova took on the office of President of the (partially recognized) Republic of Kosovo (in office from January 25, 1992 until January 21, 2006, his death, having been elected for the post under UN-Administration and appointed president by the Kosovo Assembly on March 4, 2002). It was officially introduced on October 29, 2000.

The debate goes on since Hashim Thaçi, a former KLA commander himself had to resign from his post as President effective on November 5, 2020 and is now indicted by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office for war crimes.

Since the election of Vjosa Osmani as the President of Kosovo, who replaced Hashim Thaçi, the Dardania Flag has again featured heavily in the institution of the presidency.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Kosovo)

It is not clear whether there's an official legislation regarding the Presidential flag, or I am not aware of its existence.

Esteban Rivera, 16 December 2022