Flag of Vietnam
The national flag of Vietnam, formally the National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Quốc kỳ nước Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam), locally recognized as cờ đỏ sao vàng (lit. 'red flag with a golden star') or cờ Tổ quốc (lit. 'flag of the Fatherland'), was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against the French in southern Vietnam that year. The red background symbolizes revolution and bloodshed. The golden star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society—intellectuals, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and soldiers.
| Cờ đỏ sao vàng ("red flag with a golden star") Cờ Tổ quốc ("flag of the Fatherland") | |
| Use | Civil and state flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 23 November 1940 (Cochinchina uprising) 2 September 1945 (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) 1955 (current version) 1976 (reunified Socialist Republic of Vietnam) |
| Design | A large yellow star centered on a red field. |
| Designed by | Nguyễn Hữu Tiến (disputed) |
| Flag of the People's Army of Vietnam | |
| Use | War flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | A golden star centered on a red field, and yellow words Quyết thắng (Determining to win) in the upper canton. |
| Designed by | Design is a variant of the flag of Vietnam |
| Flag of the Vietnam People's Public Security | |
| Use | Police flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | A golden star centered on a red field, and yellow motto Bảo vệ an ninh Tổ quốc (Protecting the security of the Fatherland) in the upper canton. |
| Designed by | Design is a variant of the flag of Vietnam |
| Ensign of the Vietnam People's Navy | |
| Use | Naval ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 15 January 2014 |
| Design | A white flag with an emblem referring the Vietnam People's Navy in the top with the red label Hải quân Việt Nam (Navy of Vietnam) and a blue strip below. |
| Designed by | Vietnam People's Navy, with the influence from the naval ensign of the Soviet Navy |
The flag was used by the Viet Minh, a communist-led organization created in 1941 to oppose Japanese occupation. At the end of World War II, Viet Minh leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam independent and signed a decree on 5 September 1945 adopting the Viet Minh flag as the flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The DRV became the government of North Vietnam in 1954 following the Geneva Accords. The flag was modified on 30 November 1955 to make the points of the star straighter. Until the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, South Vietnam used a yellow flag with three red stripes. The red flag of North Vietnam was later adopted as the flag of the unified Vietnam in 1976. The flag of Vietnam is the only flag amongst ASEAN that does not contain the colour white, with red and yellow/gold being its historical national colours.