Flag of Sint Maarten

What the flag of Sint Maarten looks like

The flag of Sint Maarten has a ratio of 2:3. It is divided into two horizontal bands of the same size, red at the top and blue at the bottom. A white triangle with its base on the hoist side points toward the fly and reaches about the middle of the flag. In the triangle is the coat of arms of Sint Maarten. Its shield shows a garland of yellow sage, the Constitutional Court in Philipsburg and the Dutch-French friendship monument, and its crest is a pelican in front of a yellow sun. The motto Semper Progrediens ("always progressing") is found on the arms.

The flag has three main colors: red, white and blue. These are also the colors of the Netherlands, of which Sint Maarten is a constituent country, and of France.

Sint Maarten flag meaning and symbolism

Blue represents the sea and the sky, and red represents the blood of the people of Sint Maarten. The dominant red, white and blue also evoke the flag of the Netherlands, the mother country, and are identical to the colors of the French flag. On the coat of arms, green stands for the fertility of the land and yellow for the energy of the islanders, and the orange border and light blue field allude to the colors of the Dutch monarchy. The shield also shows the Constitutional Court in Philipsburg.

The Sint Maarten flag looks like the war flag of the Philippines, which also has a white triangle at the hoist with a red band above and a blue band below, but the coat of arms in the triangle sets it apart.

History of the Sint Maarten flag

The island of Saint Martin has been shared between the Dutch and the French since 1648. The southern part, Sint Maarten, was part of the Netherlands Antilles. Sint Maarten received its own coat of arms in November 1982 and held a contest for a separate flag in August 1983. The winning flag, designed by Roselle Richardson, was adopted by the government on 13 June 1985.

When the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved on 10 October 2010, Sint Maarten became a constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with Aruba, Curaçao and the Netherlands itself. Its flag became the only flag used in the country. See also the flag of the Netherlands.

Sint Maarten flag vs Saint Martin flag

The northern part of the island, Saint-Martin, is a French overseas collectivity and uses the French tricolour as its official flag. It also has a flag of its own as a collectivity. Because the island is shared, tourists often see the French flag in the north and the Sint Maarten flag in the south. The two parts have an open border. For the French flag, see France.