Flag of Mauritania

Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	15 August 2017
Design	Two red stripes flanking a green field; charged with a golden upward-pointed crescent and star
Designed by	Moktar Ould Daddah
Use	Presidential standard
Proportion	2:3
Design	The seal of Mauritania centered on a field of white.

The flag of Mauritania (Arabic: علم موريتانيا, French: Drapeau de la Mauritanie) is a green field containing a gold star and crescent, with two red stripes at the top and bottom of the field. The original national flag was introduced under the instructions of President Moktar Ould Daddah^[1] and the constitution of 22 March 1959 and was officially adopted on 1 April 1959.^[2]

On 5 August 2017, a referendum was held by president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to change the national flag, abolish the senate, and other constitutional amendments.^[3] The referendum was successful, and the new flag, including two red horizontal stripes, which represent "the efforts and sacrifices that the people of Mauritania will keep consenting, to the price of their blood, to defend their territory", was adopted in time for its first raising on 28 November 2017, the 57th anniversary of Mauritania's independence from France.^[4]

It is one of the two flags of a currently Arabic-speaking country (the other being Egypt) that uses a shade of yellow. Also, like Egypt, the yellow colour is used in the central emblem (the crescent for Mauritania's flag and the Eagle of Saladin for Egypt's flag).

^ France: Colonial Empire at Flags of the World. Jaume Ollé and Nozomi Kariyasu, 17 June 1998. Accessed 27 August 2009.
^ (Flag of) Mauritania at Flags of the World Accessed 27 August 2009.
^ "Mauritania votes to abolish senate by referendum". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ L’Assemblée nationale adopte le projet de loi portant description du drapeau de la RIM, Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, 12 October 2017. Accessed 28 August 2018.

[1] France: Colonial Empire at Flags of the World. Jaume Ollé and Nozomi Kariyasu, 17 June 1998. Accessed 27 August 2009.

[fotw-2] (Flag of) Mauritania at Flags of the World Accessed 27 August 2009.

[3] "Mauritania votes to abolish senate by referendum". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[4] L’Assemblée nationale adopte le projet de loi portant description du drapeau de la RIM, Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, 12 October 2017. Accessed 28 August 2018.

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