The national flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a medium blue field with a yellow right triangle separating said field, and there are seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle.
The three points of the triangle stand for the three main ethnic groups (or "constituent peoples") of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. The triangle represents the approximate shape of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The stars, representing Europe, are meant to be infinite in number and thus they continue from top to bottom. The flag features colors often associated with neutrality and peace – white, blue, and yellow. They are also colors traditionally associated with Bosnian culture and history. During that period, the flag of the Axis puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia was flown across the territories of modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina.
<gallery>
File:Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg| Flag of the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945)
File:Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg| Flag of Nazi Germany used in the northern occupied zone (1941–1943) and the rest of the NDH territory (1943–1945)
File:Flag of Italy (1861–1946).svg| Flag of Fascist Italy used in the southern occupied zone (1941–1943)
</gallery>
Without constitutional recognition, the mid-war Federal State of Bosnia and Herzegovina first adopted the flag flown by Bosnian-Herzegovinian Partisans during the war—a wholly red flag with a narrowly gold-bordered red star in its centre, both symbolizing socialism and communism. used at football games, as part of political rallies, and other such events.
<gallery>
File:Flag of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg| Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (3 March 1992 − 20 May 1992)
File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1998).svg|Flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (20 May 1992 − 3 February 1998), still widely used unofficially among many Bosnians.
File:Flag of the Republika Srpska.svg| Flag of Republika Srpska (1992-1995)
File:Flag of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.svg| Flag of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
</gallery>
Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Dayton Accords
The Bosnian Serbs, before and after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, viewed the flag with the six fleurs-de-lys as only representing the Bosniaks (i.e. Bosnian Muslims) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The flag of the state was eventually changed into the current, post-1998 flag. The current flag was introduced by the UN High Representative Carlos Westendorp after the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina could not decide on a solution that was acceptable to all parties.
