Use National flag, Ensign Proportion 1:2 | Adopted on 24 February 1949 Country Samoa | |
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Design A red field with the blue rectangle on the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing the Southern Cross of four white larger five-pointed stars and the smaller star in the center. | ||
The flag of Samoa was first adopted from February 24, 1949 for UN Trusteeships, and continuously applied for the state's independence on January 1, 1962. It consists of a red field with a blue rectangle in the canton. The blue rectangle bears the constellation Southern Cross: four large white stars and one smaller star.
Historical flags
Prior to the First World War, Samoa was a colony of the German Empire. German colonies used the flag of the Imperial Colonial Office, a black-white-red tricolour defaced with the Imperial Eagle. The Imperial German government intended to introduce specific flags for the colonies (also based on the tricolour) and several proposals were created, but the war and the subsequent loss of all overseas territories prevented their official adoption. New Zealand occupied German Samoa in 1914 and officially gained control of the territory in 1919.
From the capture by New Zealand forces on August 29, 1914, a defaced ensign with three palm trees encircled, and emblazoned on the fly were used. The defaced Blue Ensign was used by vessels owned by the mandate government, or those operated in the government service, while the defaced Red Ensign was used by locally registered civilian ships.