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 language, Faroese: ''Merkið'' ) is an offset cross, representing Christianity. It is similar in design to other Nordic Cross, Nordic flags – a tradition set by the ''Flag of Denmark, Dannebrog'' of ...

'', the flag of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

. While a law student in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

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

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), 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 th ...

and Paul Dahl from

Vágur Vágur, meaning ''bay'' (), is a town and municipality on the island of Suðuroy, part of the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and was founded in the fourteenth century. Expansion has mea ...

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

Fámjin Fámjin () is a village located on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. Fámjin is looking directly out to the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. Name Tradition says that Fámjin used to be called Vesturvi ...

. 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 Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

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 () 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 :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

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