Country profile: Bosnia and Herzegovina

After independence was declared in 1992, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina used a white flag bearing a blue shield with fleurs-de-lis, inspired by the arms of the medieval Kotromanić dynasty.

The Dayton Agreement ended the war in 1995, but the representatives of the country's three peoples could not agree on a new flag. The international High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, imposed the current flag by decision, and it was raised for the first time on 4 February 1998.

The flag had to be ready for the Nagano Winter Olympics, which opened a few days later, so that the country's team could march under a common emblem.

The flag was designed to belong to none of the country's three communities:

• Yellow triangle: it evokes the shape of the territory and the equality of the three constituent peoples, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
• Blue and white stars: they are inspired by the European flag and express the country's aspiration to join Europe.

The colours were chosen for their neutrality: none of them is associated with any one community.

There are nine stars along the triangle: seven whole ones and two cut in half, at the top and bottom, as if the row continued indefinitely.

The 1992 flag with fleurs-de-lis is still used by some Bosniaks, not least in the stands, as a symbol of the country's defence during the war.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the few countries whose flag was imposed by an international authority rather than adopted by its own institutions.