The Flag of Timor-Leste

The flag of Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, features a distinctive design comprised of a red field, with a black isosceles triangle superimposed on a slightly longer yellow triangle, bearing a white five-pointed star at its center. The red color symbolizes the struggle for national liberation, the black represents the obscurantism that needs to be overcome, yellow stands for the traces of colonialism, and the white star signifies peace.

The Flag of Timor-Leste

History of The Flag of Timor-Leste

The flag of Timor-Leste was officially adopted on 20 May 2002, the day the country declared its independence from Indonesia. However, the design of the flag has its origins in the flag of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), which was first hoisted in 1975 when the country declared its initial independence from Portuguese colonial rule. Following a brief period of independence, Timor-Leste was invaded and occupied by Indonesia, and it wasn't until after a UN-administered transition process that the flag, with its original symbols of resistance and hope, was reinstated as the national flag.