The national flag of Angola is a horizontal bicolour of red and black, charged in the center with a yellow emblem consisting of a machete crossed by a half-cogwheel and crowned with a five-pointed star. It was adopted on 11 November 1975, when Angola became independent from Portugal following the thirteen-year Angolan War of Independence. The original meanings of the flag's colours and symbols accordingly referenced the war and colonial period, but they have since been reinterpreted to represent the Angolan people and society more broadly.
The flag's design is outlined in the Constitution of Angola, and regulations regarding its use are outlined in section 2.1 of the Angolan government's manual of graphic and protocol standards for national symbols. Henrique de Carvalho Santos is credited with designing the national flag, which is based on the flag of the MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola), the country's ruling party since independence.
Design and symbolism
Annex I of the Angolan constitution outlines the design of the flag and gives its colours and symbols significance. The flag is a horizontal bicolour consisting of a red upper band and a black lower band. Black represents Africa, while red represents the blood shed by Angolans during the colonial period, the war of independence and in defence of the country. The flag is charged in the center with a machete crossed by a half-cogwheel and crowned with a five-pointed star. The machete represents peasants, agriculture, and the war of independence; the half-cogwheel represents workers and industry; and the star represents international solidarity and progress. The charge is yellow, which symbolises the wealth of Angola. In the original constitution of 1975, "defence of the country" was "revolution", and "international solidarity" was "internationalism". American vexillologist Whitney Smith notes that the Angolan flag's charge is similar to the star, hammer and sickle of the Soviet flag.
Construction
Parameters in which the flag should be constructed are specified in section 2.1 of the Angolan government's manual of graphic and protocol standards for national symbols. The position and size of the emblem and bands should match the construction sheet shown in the manual; any other arrangement is considered a distortion, alteration or misrepresentation. The manual outlines standard dimensions for physical flags, but any dimensions are acceptable as long as the width-to-length ratio is 2:3. The manual also specifies the particular shades of the flag's colours: Angola red, Angola yellow and process black.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Standard dimensions of the flag of Angola
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Dimensions
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | Small
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | Medium
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | Large
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Standard colours of the flag of Angola
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" style="background:#CC092F" |
! scope="col" style="background:#FFCB00" |
! scope="col" style="background:#000000" |
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | CMYK
| 20/100/90/0 || 0/15/100/0 || 10/10/10/100
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | Pantone
| 186 C || 116 C || Black 6 C
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | RGB
| 204/9/47 || 255/203/0 || 0/0/0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | Hexadecimal
| #CC092F || #FFCB00 || #000000
|}
Protocol
The Angolan flag is protected under Angolan law; improper use or handling of the flag is considered a criminal offence. Section 2.1 of the Angolan government's manual on protocol standards for national symbols outlines regulations regarding the display and handling of the flag.
thumb|The Angolan flag flying outside the National Assembly building in [[Luanda]]
Any institution or individual may fly the flag as long as they properly observe the procedures and protocols outlined in the manual. Public institutions should fly the flag outside their respective headquarters. In general, the flag should be raised on Sundays, public holidays and days when official ceremonies or observances are held. The Angolan president, National Assembly and courts may order the flag to be raised on any other day. Government institutions should raise the flag outside of their headquarters daily. The flag must remain hoisted from 9 a.m. until sunset and, when flown at night, be illuminated by projectors if possible. During periods of national mourning, the national flag and any other flags flown alongside it should also be lowered to half-mast. The flag must be raised to the end of the flagpole before it is lowered to half-mast; the same procedure is followed when lowering the flag from half-mast. On flagpoles with lintels, the flag should be hoisted at the top of the flagpole or on the right side if the top has not been prepared for use.
thumb|Angolan president [[João Lourenço shaking hands with US defence secretary Lloyd Austin at the Angolan presidential palace in 2023]]
The national flag should be displayed more prominently than other flags of the state and foreign flags. The national flag should not be smaller than flags displayed alongside it. When there are two flagpoles, the national flag occupies the left flagpole from the perspective of the observer. When there are three flagpoles, the national flag occupies the middle one. When there are more than three flagpoles inside a building, the national flag occupies the center one for odd numbers and the first left-of-center one for even numbers. When there are more than three flagpoles outdoors, the national flag occupies the first flagpole on the left, followed by all other flags to the right. If there are multiple flagpoles of differing heights, the national flag should be flown on the tallest one. The tallest flagpole must also be positioned in accordance with the other regulations related to the display of the national flag. The Angolan government may make exceptions to these requirements if the national flag is flown by an international organisation or at an international meeting on Angolan soil. In general, flagpoles should be "placed in an honourable location" on the ground, on building facades, or at the top of a building.
In digital representations, the flag's legibility and contrast should be maximised when displaying it on a solid colour background or in the foreground of a photograph. To this end, the manual recommends a border around the flag with a width equal to twice the diameter of the star on the flag.
Presidential standard
thumb| Standard of the [[president of Angola]]
The standard of the president of Angola is a red field charged in the center with the same emblem on the national flag, albeit with two yellow olive branches below it. As with the national flag, the colours are Angola red and Angola yellow. The width-to-length ratio is 2:3.
The presidential standard indicates the presence of the Angolan president. It is always present in the presidential palace, which serves as the president's official residence. It is also displayed on the official presidential vehicle at a reduced size. The presidential standard must always be displayed next to the national flag.
History
Adoption
Angola flew the flag of Portugal during the Portuguese colonial period. The Angolan War of Independence (1961–1974) was ended by the success of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, which saw the installation of a military council in favour of decolonisation. was appointed to oversee Angola's transition to independence. At noon on 10 November 1975, the Portuguese flag was lowered in the capital Luanda, and Cardoso departed for Portugal with the remaining Portuguese colonial officials and soldiers. Before leaving, Cardoso transferred sovereignty over Angola to the Angolan people, instead of a particular movement. The MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola), one of several groups that fought in the war, proclaimed the independence of the People's Republic of Angola the following midnight, on 11 November.