Flag of Montenegro
The flag of Montenegro was officially adopted with the Law on the state symbols and the statehood day of Montenegro on 13 July 2004 at the proposal of the government of Montenegro. It was constitutionally sanctioned with the proclamation of the Constitution on 22 October 2007. It is a red banner with broader golden edges all around the red field with the coat of arms of Montenegro in its center.
The Law on the state symbols and the statehood day of Montenegro reached full effect the day after its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro. The publication occurred 12 July 2004 and the legal power of the Law occurred the day after, on 13 July 2004 – the statehood day of Montenegro.
Description
The flag of Montenegro is red, with the coat of arms in the middle, and golden borders. The ratio of the flag is 1:2. The coat of arms takes up of the flag's height. The middle point of the coat of arms matches the middle point of the flag. The width of the border is of the flag's proportions. Two versions of the Montenegrin flag are in use, horizontal, mostly used outdoor; and vertical, mostly used indoor.Use of flag
The flag is permanently hoisted on:- the Parliament of Montenegro;
- buildings which are official premises of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the High Court, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme State Attorney and the Human Rights Ombudsman;
- the residence of the President of Montenegro.
- the statehood day of Montenegro and in days of other state holidays of Montenegro, on buildings in which are seated state bodies and other bodies of government
- buildings of the representations of Montenegro abroad;
- aircraft, ships and other vessels according to special regulations;
- voting sites during elections and referendums;
- mourning days determined by the Government, half-masted.
According to international tradition, when the flag is hoisted together with one or more flags of other states or international organizations on Montenegrin soil, the flag takes the place of honour.
The place of honour is considered the center of a circle, the top of a semicircle, the first place in a row, column or a group of flags, the central position between the flags and the left side as seen from the front from the flags of other states or international organizations.
The flag is hoisted, lowered and carried with the usual honors The flag can not be hoisted so as to touch the ground, nor should be used as a table cloth, curtain or similar.
Historical
The historical war flags were the krstaš-barjak, plain flags with crosses in the center.- The Montenegrin war flag used in the Battle of Vučji Do was red with a white cross pattée in the center and a white border. This flag was used as the military stag during the Montenegrin-Ottoman wars. The same flag was used in Cetinje in 1878, upon the recognition of independence by the Ottoman Empire at San Stefano.
- According to the 1905 constitution, the national flag was a tricolour of red-bluish-white, which were the colours of Montenegrin folk costume.
In late 1946 a new flag of the People's Republic of Montenegro, a constituent republic of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, was adopted. It returned the traditional tricolor adding an ideological communist Red Star to its center. This flag was used until 1992, when the proclaimed flag was red, bluish and white vertical tricolor, with the size ratio of 1:3, making it the widest national flag in the world. In 2004 the tricolor flag was replaced with the current flag.