Jens Oliver Lisberg (24 December 1896 – 31 August 1920) (Jens Olivur Lisberg in modern Faroese) was one of the designers of the ''

Merkið The flag of the Faroe Islands (in faroese: ''Merkið'') is an offset cross, representing Christianity. It is similar in design to other Nordic flags – a tradition set by the '' Dannebrog'' of Denmark, of which the Faroe Islands are an auto ...

'', the flag of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. While a law student in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, he devised the flag in 1919 with two other Faroese students, Janus Øssursson from

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

and Paul Dahl from Vágur. Lisberg raised the flag for the first time on Faroese soil on 22 June 1919 on returning to his home town of

Fámjin Fámjin ( da, Famien) is a village located on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. Fámjin is looking directly out to the North Atlantic Ocean. Name Geography The village of Fámjin faces the ocean, althou ...

. It would not however receive official status until 25 April 1940 when the British occupation government approved its use as the

civil ensign A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag ...

of the islands. Lisberg died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on 31 August 1920. He is buried in Fámjin, where the church now holds the original copy of the Merkið.

References

''This article is based upon a translation of the equivalent article in the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lisberg, Jens Oliver 1896 births 1920 deaths Flag designers 20th-century Faroese people Deaths from pneumonia in the Faroe Islands