The
flag of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
consists of the emblem depicting the white
azimuthal equidistant projection
The azimuthal equidistant projection is an azimuthal map projection. It has the useful properties that all points on the map are at proportionally correct distances from the center point, and that all points on the map are at the correct azimut ...
of the world map, centred on the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
, with two white
olive branches placed on to its right and left, located on the
sky blue background. The emblem was officially adopted on 7 December 1946, and the flag, on 20 October 1947.
[
]
Design
The flag of the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
consists of the white emblem on the sky blue background. The emblem depicts a azimuthal equidistant projection
The azimuthal equidistant projection is an azimuthal map projection. It has the useful properties that all points on the map are at proportionally correct distances from the center point, and that all points on the map are at the correct azimut ...
of the world map, centred on the North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
, with the globe being bisected in the centre by the Prime meridian
A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
and the International Date Line, thus ensuring that no country is at prominence within the flag. The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude, and includes five concentric circles. The map is inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized branches of the olive tree.[General Assembly A/107, Official Seal and Emblem of the United Nations, 15 October 1946]
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The size of the emblem on the flag is one half the width of the flag itself. The flag proportions of the aspect ratio of the flag height to its width, are equal 2:3, 3:5 or to the same proportions as the national flag of any country in which the UN flag is flown.[ White and blue are the official colours of the ]United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
. The light blue background colour code is Pantone Matching System 2925. It approximates sky blue.
The olive branches are a symbol for peace, and the world map represents all the people and the countries of the world.[
]
History
The organizers of the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization
The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, Calif ...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
wanted an insignia that could be made into a pin to identify delegates. United States Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, Jr.
Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (October 22, 1900 – October 31, 1949) was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and as U.S. Ambassador ...
was chairperson of the U.S. delegation, and realized that a temporary design might become the permanent symbol of the United Nations. He formed a committee headed by Oliver Lundquist
Oliver Lincoln Lundquist (September 20, 1916 – December 28, 2008) was an American architect and industrial designer who headed the team which was responsible for the design of the United Nations logo and who himself designed the Q-Tip box.
B ...
that developed a design consisting of a world map surrounded by leaves from a design created by Donal McLaughlin
Donal McLaughlin (July 26, 1907 – September 27, 2009) was an American architect who played a major role in the design of the flag of the United Nations.
Early life and education
McLaughlin was born on July 26, 1907, in Manhattan and was rai ...
.
McLaughlin had previously worked as chief of graphics for the Office of Strategic Services that preceded the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. The azimuthal equidistant projection
The azimuthal equidistant projection is an azimuthal map projection. It has the useful properties that all points on the map are at proportionally correct distances from the center point, and that all points on the map are at the correct azimut ...
used in his design was heavily influenced by the maps created during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
by Richard Edes Harrison, a popular cartographer working for ''Fortune'' and ''Life.''''''.
The blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
that appears in the background of the insignia was chosen to be "the opposite of red, the war colour", although the exact shade has never been officially specified by the United Nations. The original colour the group chose in 1945 was a gray blue that differs from the current United Nations flag. The globe used in the original design was an azimuthal projection
In cartography, map projection is the term used to describe a broad set of transformations employed to represent the two-dimensional curved surface of a globe on a plane. In a map projection, coordinates, often expressed as latitude and longi ...
focused on the North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
with the United States, the host nation of the conference, at the centre. The projection that was used cut off portions of the Southern Hemisphere at the latitude of Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, which was acceptable at the time, as Argentina was not planned to be an original member of the United Nations.[Heller, Steven]
"Oliver Lincoln Lundquist, Designer, Is Dead at 92 "
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 3 January 2009. Accessed 4 January 2009. The projection was later altered so that no country will be at prominence within the flag. The new logo was now designed so that the globe is bisected in the centre by the Prime Meridian
A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
and the International Date Line. The earlier version of the emblem had the globe 90 degrees turned eastward compared with the present flag, which has the Prime Meridian
A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
and the International Date Line forming the vertical diameter. According to press statements, the change was made to move North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
away from the centre of the emblem.[
In 1946, a UNO committee got the task of making a definite design, which was presented 2 December 1946. The emblem was adopted by the plenary session of the UNO on 7 December 1946, and the flag was officially adopted on 20 October 1947.][
]
Use
According to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, the emblem and the flag of the United Nations can be used by the personnel and material of UN peacekeeping missions as a protective sign to prevent attacks during an armed conflict.
The United Nations flag may also be flown as a garrison flag with other country flags. Garrison size is 10 feet by 30 feet.
Derived flags
Agencies and organizations
National flags
The UN flag is the origin of a family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of national flags. Because of the UN's association with peace and cooperation, UN-inspired flags are often adopted by nations experiencing conflict or instability. Many nations with UN-inspired flags either were or were a part of United Nations trust territories.
Use outside UN
* The UN flag is depicted in the background of former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld on Sweden's 1,000 SEK banknote, the currency's highest denomination. The banknotes have been in circulation since October 2015.
Notes
References
External links
UN Flag Code, 20 November 2020
United Nations Flag Code
*
{{United Nations
United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...