Greece: President and Ministers' flags

Last modified: 2002-05-31 by ivan sache
Keywords: president | cross (white) | wreath | phoenix | prime minister | minister of defense | minister | car flag |
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• President of the Republic
  • 1973-1975 flag
• Prime Minister
• Minister of Defense
  • Car flag
• Minister of Navy (obsolete?)
• Other Ministers (obsolete?)

See also:

• Greece
• Greece: President of the First Republic (1924-1935)

President of the Republic

by Zeljko Heimer

Blue square flag with the coat of arms in the middle. Colour of the coat of arms are not the usual ones , in particular regarding the wreath that is all yellow instead of normal green.

Source: Album des Pavillons [pay00]

Zeljko Heimer, 10 October 2001

According to the Presidential Decree 274 of 13 April 1979, the details of the above image are the following:

• wreath yellow (gold really) and fimbriation dark gold,
• external diameter of palms 9 : 13 of width of flag
• shield fimbriated yellow

Armand Noël du Payrat, 2 February 2000

Dorling Kindersley's [udk97] shows eroneously the flag as 1:1, with a very wide fringe (as wide as 1/10th of the blue field), a very large coat-of-arms, occupying almost all the field, without yellow fimbriations, and with green leaves with red berries!

Santiago Dotor, 3 February 2000

1973-1975 flag

by Santiago Dotor

Accordong to Barraclough & Crampton [bcr81], the national arms, adopted following the establishment of the republic on 29 July 1973, consisted of a golden phoenix arising from red flames. This appeared on the President's flag which is blue, in the proportions 20:23, with a gold fringe. The phoenix emblem had been used during the previous republic of 1924-35.
The 20:23 ratio includes the fringe, which is approximately as wide as 1/16th of the blue field's height. The phoenix and flames emblem's height and width are both approximately 5/7ths of the blue field's height.

Santiago Dotor, 2 February 2000

There is no way the standard with the phoenix would have been used beyond 1974. The Phoenix was an emblem of the military junta that ruled Greece 1967- 1974. It first appeared as the emblem of the "revolution" (military coup) of 21 April1967 that brought the junta to power. In that capacity it had an outline sentry in dark standing before it. When the junta abolished the monarchy (on 1 June 1973) the phoenix was the "natural" choice for emblem of the new Republic, to replace the royal arms. Although the phoenix was part of the arms adopted in 1932 for the Greek Republic declared in 1924 (but lacking any arms until 1932) I don't think that was the inspiration for its re-adoption in 1973. I'm sure the phoenix standard can't have been used after 24 July 1974 (collapse of the junta) or 24 December1974 (election of provisional President to replace Gen. Gizikis, a junta appointment) since the phoenix was VERY unpopular in Greece at the time (still is), was derisively called "the bird" (a double meaning there - "bird" is the Greek equivalent of the English "willy") and no-one, let alone the President of the Republic, would dare have used it !
I think the modern President standard's was adopted in 1975 and was modified in 1979.

Yannis Natsinas, 14 November 2000

Prime Minister

by Zeljko Heimer

Square blue flag with a white cross and three white diagonal (rising) stripes in the first quarter.

Source: Album des Pavillons [pay00]

Also shown in Kannik (1956) [kan56] and National Geographic (1917) [gmc17] but not in Royal Navy Handbook of Signalling (1913) [rhs13].

Zeljko Heimer, 10 October 2001

Minister of Defense

by Zeljko Heimer

As above but with other three (falling) diagonal stripes in the third quarter.

Source: Album des Pavillons [pay00]

Zeljko Heimer, 10 October 2001

Car flag

by Zeljko Heimer

Dark blue-red-light blue tricolour fimbriated white with the Minister's emblem overall and with golden fring on three edges.
The emblem and the inscription can be seen on the web site of the Ministry of Defence. The text has a quite unusual Greek font, though. The inscription (Latin transcription: amynesthai peri patris) stems from Homer's Iliad (12:243) and means "to defend one's country". The whole line reads: Heis oiynos aristos amynesthai peri patris (One omen is best, to fight for one's country).

Zeljko Heimer & Marcus Schmöger, 13 October 2001

Minister of Navy (obsolete?)

by Zejko Heimer

Square version of the national flag. Shown in Album des Pavillons, edition 1995 [pie95] , but no longer shown in the 2000 edition [pay].

Zeljko Heimer, 14 October 2001

Other Ministers (obsolete?)

by C. Eugene Baldwin

Shown in Kannik (1956) [kan56] and National Geographic (1917) [gmc17] but not in Royal Navy Handbook of Signalling (1913) [rhs13].