Flag of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg Bosnia

Usage

The flag was adopted by the short-lived Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia in 1992 as a variation of Croatian flag and used throughout the war. Since the entity's incorporation into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994-6, the flag has come to represent all Croats in the country. However, no official decision has been made about it, since no body has the competency to decide upon this matter. It is more favoured by the country's Croats than the official state flag. Between 1994 and 1996, before the Bosniak-Croat Federation adopted its own symbols, three flags were hoisted in the sessions of the Parlament of the Federation: the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the time, the flag of Bosniaks, and the flag of Herzeg-Bosnia "(that is, the flag of Bosnian Croats, red-white-blue with chequy coat of arms)."

As an unofficial flag of Bosnia's Croats, it is present in the office of Croat member of state presidency, as well as in many Croat-majority municipalities and schools in the country. Croatian National Assembly uses it regularly, just as all mainstream Croat political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Canton flag

Since the creation of Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994 and the establishment of its 10 cantons in 1996, as Herzeg-Bosnia was abolished, it was used as the official flag of three Croat-majority cantons (Posavina Canton, Canton 10 and West Herzegovina Canton). In 1997 and 1998 the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled its usage as a canton flag unconstitutional, since the symbols of cantons and municipalities cannot represent just one ethnic group. Posavina Canton changed its flag in 2000, while it is still used as an official flag of West Herzegovina Canton (since Croats comprise 98,8% of the population) and, controversially, Canton 10 (with 77% of Croats).