Flag of People's Republic of Macedonia (1944–1946) between 1944 and 1946 The modern Macedonian state was proclaimed underground on 2 August 1944 by the
Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM), the state's supreme legislative and executive body until 1946. The state was originally known as Democratic Federal Macedonia and was renamed the People's Republic of Macedonia in 1945. The ASNOM became operational in December, shortly after the German retreat. The flag was adopted during ASNOM's second
plenary session in December. The first version of the flag depicted a gold-edged five-pointed red star centred on a red field.
Flag of Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1946–1992) from 1946 to 1991 Between December 1946 and September 1991, the
Socialist Republic of Macedonia (known as the People's Republic of Macedonia until 1963) was one of the six
constituent republics of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was the only Yugoslav republic not to use the
Pan-Slavic colours on its flag. Macedonia instead adopted an amended version of its previous flag, depicting
communist symbols as the gold-edged five-pointed
red star in the
canton against a
red field in a design similar to the flags of the
Soviet Union or the
People's Republic of China. This flag was adopted on 31 December 1946 under Article 4 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Macedonia. It remained in use until 1992.
Kutlesh flag (1992–1995) In 1992,
Todor Petrov, president of the nationalist Macedonian diaspora organization
World Macedonian Congress, proposed the
Vergina Sun as the national symbol of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia). On 11 August 1992, the newly independent Republic of Macedonia adopted the new flag to replace the old Communist "red star" insignia. The flag depicted the "Vergina Sun" symbol, a stylised yellow sun centred on a red field with eight main and eight secondary rays emanating from the sun, each tapering to a point. This ancient symbol was named after the Greek town where it had been discovered in archaeological excavations of the
ancient Macedonian city of
Aigai. in
Skopje The Vergina Sun was regarded by Greece as a symbol of continuity between
ancient Macedonia and modern Greek culture, and in particular as a symbol of the
Argead dynasty of
Philip II of Macedon and his son
Alexander the Great. From the late 1970s it had also been adopted by many both in Greece and the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia to symbolise historical connections with ancient Macedonia and had been paraded in demonstrations by Greeks and ethnic Macedonians at home and abroad. The flag, the new state's constitution and its name all became the focus of a dispute between the two countries, during which Greece imposed an economic blockade on the Republic from February 1994. In July 1995, Greece lodged a request with the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for exclusive
trademark protection to the Vergina Sun. Greek objections also prevented the flag from being flown at the
United Nations Headquarters building in
New York City. The blockade was lifted in October 1995 when an agreement was reached to change the flag, modify the constitution and resolve the
naming dispute through
United Nations-sponsored negotiations. The change of the flag was at first not accepted by conservative Macedonians, nationalists, and Greek patriots. In the first years after the change, both flags were officially flown for a long time. Between 1995 and 1998, in the municipalities where then-opposition party
VMRO-DPMNE ruled, only the old flag was flown from institution buildings. Popular opinion was divided about the merits of changing the flag. As part of the
Prespa Agreement (Article 8) of 2018, which resolved the naming dispute, the government of
North Macedonia committed to removing the Vergina Sun from all public spaces and from public use, including its use in flags. It started removing the symbol since 12 August 2019.
The Second Party (i.e. North Macedonia) shall not use again in any way and in all its forms the symbol formerly displayed on its former national flag. Within six months of the entry into force of this Agreement, the Second Party shall proceed to the removal of the symbol displayed on its former national flag from all public sites and public usages on its territory. Archaeological artefacts do not fall within the scope of this provision. Article 8, paragraph 2 of the
Prespa Agreement Toni Deskoski, Macedonian professor of International Law, argues that the Vergina Sun is not a Macedonian symbol but a Greek symbol that is used by ethnic Macedonians in the nationalist context of
Macedonianism and that the ethnic Macedonians need to get rid of it.
Current flag (1995–present) In 1995, the Macedonian government appointed
Miroslav Grčev to draft a proposal for a new flag. On 5 October 1995, the current flag of
North Macedonia was adopted by the
Macedonian parliament. The flag represents a golden sun with eight rays on a red field. == Design ==