Flag of Portugal

The national flag of the Portuguese Republic, often referred to as the Portuguese flag, consists of a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The version without laurels of the country’s national coat of arms stands in the middle of the Portuguese armillary sphere and shield, centered over the colour boundary at equal distance. The flag was announced in 1910, following the 5 October 1910 revolution, inspired by the colours of the Republican Party and the design of radical conspiratorial society the Carbonária.

The decree that legally created the republican flag was approved by the Constituent Assembly and published in government journal no. 141 (Portuguese: diário do Governo) on 19 June 1911. On 30 June, this decree had its regulations officially published in government diary no. 150. Nevertheless, the new flag had been first presented in 1910, on the national holiday of the Restoration of Independence (celebrating December 1, 1640), which was rededicated as the Day of the Flag, although this new designation did not erase the previous one. The flag's length is equal to 1+1⁄2 times its width, which translates into an aspect ratio of 2:3. The background is vertically divided into two colours: dark green on the hoist side, and scarlet red on the fly. The colour division is made in a way that green spans 2⁄5 of the length and the remaining 3⁄5 is filled by red (ratio 2:3). The lesser version of the national coat of arms (without the laurel wreaths)—a white-rimmed national shield on top of a black-highlighted yellow armillary sphere—is positioned over the border between both colours. The armillary sphere has a diameter equal to 1⁄2 the height and is equidistant from the upper and lower…