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Flag of 1976 of the Seychelles

Republik Sesel / Republic of Seychelles

by Zeljko Heimer

1976-1977 flag
Presidential flag, 1976

See also:

1976-1977 flag

Blue and red flag divided with a white saltire.

Adopted at independence on 29 June 1976, abolished 29 June 1977. (Sources: "Prisma Vlaggengids" Jos Poels (description) and "Flags of the World" E.M.C. Barraclough (proportions).

This was the flag the Seychelles gained independence under in 1976, and was replaced by the wavy flag a year later when the first President, James Mancham, was overthrown by his deputy, F. Albert Renee, whilst at an international conference.
Mark Sensen, 27 July 1996

White saltire dividing triangles of blue (top and bottom) and red (hoist and fly) - Proportions: 1:2 - Width of the saltire: 1/15th of the width (i.e. hoist), according to Diccionario Enciclopédico Espasa - Meaning of the colours: (a) the two main political parties: the former Democratic Party (blue and white) and the Seychelles People's United Party (red and white) (b) the British and the French who once ruled the islands.

Presidential Flag 1976-1977: National Flag with the armorial badge (not the coat-of-arms) within a white fimbriation in the centre. The badge was like the former one in the colonial Blue Ensign, showing the tortoise and palm-tree motif within a wreath of palm-leaves. The former ensign badge dated from April 1961 and was based on an earlier version said to have been designed by General Charles Gordon in the late ninteenth century.

Coat-of-arms (adopted 1976): a tortoise, a palm-tree and a maritime scene in the background, the shield supported by two sail-fish, with a crest of a "paille-en-queue" (a native bird to the islands) and a scroll with the motto "FINIS CORONAT OPVS" ("The End Crowns the Work"). Unchanged in 1977.

Sources: Barraclough and Crampton 1981 pp.153-154, Smith 1985 p.194, Crampton 1989 p.99, Álvarez 1986 p.131, Kindersley 1997 p.107 and Diccionario Enciclopédico Espasa (8th edition, Espasa-Calpe, Madrid 1978), vol. 11, p.378
Santiago Dotor, 13 April 2000

Presidential flag

1:2 by Zeljko Heimer

The national flag defaced with the badge bordered white. The badge is taken from 1961 blue ensign image by Jaume Ollé.

The coat of arms still used were granted in 1976, but apparently not used on this set of flags.

Zeljko Heimer, 14 January 2003