Flag of Vietnam
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| Name | Cờ đỏ sao vàng ("Red flag with a gold star") |
|---|---|
| Use | Civil and state flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | September 5, 1945 |
| Design | A large yellow star centered on a red field. |
| Designed by | Nguyễn Hữu Tiến (or Lê Quang Sô) |
Variant flag of Vietnam
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| Name | Flag of the People's Army of Vietnam |
| Use | War flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | A yellow star centered on a red field, and yellow words "Quyết thắng" (determined to win) in the upper left. |
| Designed by | Design is a variant of the flag of Vietnam |
Variant flag of Vietnam
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| Name | Ensign of the Vietnam People's Navy |
| Use | Naval ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | January 15, 2014 |
| Design | A white flag with an emblem of the Vietnam People's Navy in its upper canton with a blue strip below. |
| Designed by | Design is a variant of the flag of Vietnam |
The flag of Vietnam, or "red flag with a gold star" (cờ đỏ sao vàng), was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against French rule in southern Vietnam that year. The background was inspired by the red flag, used by the international communist movement since the Paris Commune of 1871. Red symbolizes the goals of social revolution behind the Vietnamese, national uprising. The star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society—intellectuals, farmers, workers, businessmen and military personnel.
The flag was used by the Viet Minh, a communist-led organization created in 1941 to oppose Japanese occupation. At the end of World War II, Viet Minh leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam independent and signed a decree on September 5, 1945 adopting the flag as the flag of the North Vietnam. The DRV became the government of North Vietnam in 1954 following the Geneva Accords. The flag was modified on November 30, 1955 to make the edges of the star sharper. Until the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, South Vietnam used a yellow flag with three red stripes. The red flag of North Vietnam was later adopted as the flag of the unified Vietnam in 1976.
According to the 1992 constitution: "The National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is rectangular in shape, its width is equal to two thirds of its length, in the middle of fresh red background is a bright five-pointed golden star".
The flag first appeared in the southern uprising (Nam Kỳ Khởi nghĩa) of November 23, 1940, against French rule in southern Vietnam. A series of articles by Sơn Tùng on the origin of the flag were published in the state media in 1981. Sơn Tùng stated that the flag was designed by Nguyễn Hữu Tiến, a leader of the uprising who was arrested by the French in advance of the failed uprising and executed Aug. 28, 1941. Tiến, who was born in the northern village of Lũng Xuyên, was unknown to the Vietnamese public before Tùng's research was published. According to a poem Tiến wrote, the red background represents blood while the yellow foreground represents "the color of our race’s skin", the five points of the star represent intellectuals, peasants, workers, traders and soldiers. Tiến's poem reads in part:
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Wikipedia