Flag Day of Romania – June 26, 2024

History of Flag Day of Romania

National Flag Day in Romania was established in 1998. According to the Constitution of Romania, “the flag of Romania is tricolor; the colors are arranged vertically in the following order from the flagpole: blue, yellow, red.” Law no. 75 of July 16, 1994, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 237 of August 26, 1994, specifically provides for flag colors, proportions, protocols, and specific shades, which are cobalt blue, chrome yellow, and vermillion red.

The history of Romania’s national flag can be traced back to 1821, during the Wallachian uprising when all three colors were featured on the canvas of the revolutionary flag. However, it wasn’t until 1834 that the tricolor was adopted in Wallachia — a historical former independent principality in Romania — by domnitor Alexandru II Ghica, who submitted designs for its approval by Sultan Mahmud II. At this time, the flag was red, blue, and yellow, with stars and a bird’s face at the center. In 1848, the revolutionaries once again adopted a blue, yellow, and red horizontal tricolor for Wallachia. Each color had a meaning attributed to it: sky blue representing liberty, field yellow symbolizing justice, and blood-red symbolizing fraternity.

Between 1859 and 1866, the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia used the red, yellow, and blue horizontal tricolor. However, in 1867, the flag was modified; the colors were arranged vertically and the country’s coat of arms was placed at the center. When Romania was declared a socialist people’s republic on December 30, 1947, kingdom symbols were outlawed, and the coat of arms was replaced with the country’s emblem. In 1989, Decree-Law no. 2 of December 27, 1989, provided that “the national flag is the traditional tricolor of Romania, with the colors laid out vertically, in the following order, starting from the flagpole: blue, yellow, red.”