List of flags of Malta

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The following is a list of flags of Malta.

National flags

Flag Date Use Description
Flag of Malta.svg 1964—Present State flag and naval ensign White and red, augmented in the canton by a depiction of the British George Cross. Ratio 2:3.
Civil Ensign of Malta.svg 1964—Present Civil ensign Red, bordered white and charged with a white Maltese cross. Ratio 2:3.

Governmental flags

Flag Date Use Description
Flag of the President of Malta.svg 1988—Present Presidential standard Blue, with the arms of Malta in the centre and a golden Maltese cross in each corner. Ratio: 2:3.
1814—Present Commissioner of the Police Force Blue triangular pennant with a silver representation of the Malta Police badge in the centre.
Flag of the Archbishop of Malta.svg 754—Present Archbishop's standard A papal flag (two equal vertical stripes, yellow and white), but with the ratio: 2:3.

Military flags

Flag Date Use Description
Flag of Malta.svg 1964—Present Military ensign Identical to the State flag. White and red, augmented in the canton by a depiction of the British George Cross. Ratio 2:3.
100px 1964—Present Naval jack A George Cross proper fimbriated in red in the centre of a white square, within a red square. Each corner of the red square shall contain a white Maltese Cross. Ratio: 1:1.
c.1973—Present Commander of the Armed Forces' Pennant A red triangular pennant with golden emblem of the Armed Forces. The emblem is a mason tower of de Redin, which represents fortification and Malta defences back to the time of the knights of St. John.

Historical flags

Flag Date Use Description
Black flag.svg 870–909 Flag of the Abbasid Caliphate used in Malta Undefaced black banner.
Fatimid flag.svg 909–1091 Flag of the Fatimid Caliphate used in Malta Undefaced green banner.
Unofficial Flag of Malta (pre-1943).svg 1091–1943 Malta Civil Flag (Unofficial) Undefaced white-red vertical bicolor. Ratio 2:3.
Flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.svg 1530–1798 Flag of the Order of Saint John Red rectangular flag quartered by a white cross.
Flag of France.svg 1798–1800 Flag of France used in Malta A vertical tricolour of blue, white, and red.
Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816).svg 1798–1813 Flag of Sicily used in Malta A white flag with the coat of arms of Sicily
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg 1798–1801 Flag of Great Britain used in Malta A superimposition of the flags of England and Scotland.
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 1801 onwards Flag of Great Britain and Ireland used in Malta A superimposition of the flags of England and Scotland with the Saint Patrick's Saltire (representing Ireland).
19th Century Flag of Malta.svg 19th century British Malta State ensign Red Ensign with a white St George's cross, but no badge.
Flag of Malta (1875-1898).svg 1875–c.1898 British Malta State ensign Blue ensign. Badge: A white Maltese cross on white and red panel framed with ginger-bread.
Flag of Malta (1898-1923).svg c.1898–1923 British Malta State ensgin Blue ensign. Badge: On a white circle a white and red shield with pointed top and gold border.
Flag of Malta (1923-1943).svg 1923–1943 British Malta State ensign Blue ensign. Badge: White and red shield with pointed top and gold border.
Flag of Malta (1943-1964).svg 1943–1964 British Malta State ensign Blue ensign. Badge: On a white circle a white and red flat top shield with George Cross on blue canton.
Flag of Malta (1943).svg 1943–1964 Malta Civil Flag (Unofficial) White-red vertical bicolor with George Cross on blue canton.
Royal Standard of Malta (1964).svg 1967–1974 Queen Elizabeth II's Personal Flag for Malta The royal cypher on blue, taken from the Queen's Personal Flag, in the centre of a banner of the Arms (became obsolete when Malta became a Republic on December 12, 1974).[1] Ratio 2:3.
Flag of the Governor of Malta (1875).svg 1875-c. 1898 Governor's Flag Badge: A white Maltese cross on white and red panel framed with ginger-bread, on a white circle surrounded by a garland on the Union Flag.
Flag of the Governor of Malta (1898).svg c.1898–1943 Governor's Flag Badge: White and red shield with pointed top and gold border, on a white circle surrounded by a garland on the Union Flag.
Flag of the Governor of Malta (1943).svg 1943–1964 Governor's Flag On a white circle surrounded by a garland on the Union Flag of the Governor.
Flag of the Governor-General of Malta.svg 1964–1974 Governor-General's Flag Commonwealth blue with the Royal Crest and Malta scroll.

Local Councils

Some flags had been used prior to the creation of local councils in 1993. The coats of arms of the local councils are officially recognised, however the flags are not and thus a number of variants exist. Since 1993, a new local council, Mtarfa, has been created, and the local councils of Attard, Birżebbuġa, Floriana, Kalkara, Lija, Mellieħa, Mġarr, Mosta, Nadur, Naxxar, Paola, Qrendi, Siġġiewi, Xgħajra and Żebbuġ have changed their flags and coats of arms. Some, such as Mosta, had minor differences, but others, like Xgħajra changed the arms completely.

Malta

Flag Date Use Description
Flag of Attard.svg 2000—Present Attard (village) A blue cross that represents Roman Catholicism and St. Mary with a red square in the middle on white background.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag was similar but with white central square.

100px 1993—Present Balzan (village) A red horizontal line between two some horizontal green lines, on white background.
Flag of Birgu.svg 1993—Present Birgu - Città Vittoriosa (city) Sword held upright and laurel are symbolizing the winner, olive probably the peace afterwards. A number of variants of the flag are known to exist.
100px 1993—Present Birkirkara (town) Horizontally divided red over white, the top (red) stripe about half as wide as the bottom (white) one. A royal crown centred on the red stripe, a red Greek cross centred on the white stripe.
Flag of Birżebbuġa.gif 2000—Present Birżebbuġa (village) An olive plant representing this locality, and the colour blue because it is near the sea.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag was dark blue with a yellow chain in orle and two yellow crossed keys in the centre.

BormlaHTML.gif 1993—Present Bormla - Città Cospicua (city) A cotton plant on a yellow background.
Flag of Dingli.svg 1993—Present Dingli (village) Segmented diagonally in four triangles: two light blue facing each other horizontally and two red ones facing each other vertically, all separated with a white band.
Flag of Il-Fgura.svg 1993—Present Fgura (town) A white flag with a red horizontal line, and three gold stars on the line. Similar to the flag of Kerċem.
Flag of Floriana, Malta.png 2006—Present Furjana (town) Red rampant lion on a white background, taken from the coat of arms of Grandmaster António Manoel de Vilhena.

Current flag adopted in 2006, previous flag was divided per pale. The dexter side showed a red rampant lion with a golden head in a white field. The sinister side showed a golden winged arm holding upright a sword in natural colour. It was based on the coat of arms of the same Grandmaster. A variant of this flag also existed.

Flag of Gudja.svg 1993—Present Gudja (village) White flag with a red pointed bar.
MLT Gżira flag.gif 1993—Present Gżira (town) A blue flag with a white wavy stripe from the top hoist to the bottom fly; on the top fly, a yellow heraldic ship, on the bottom hoist a yellow heraldic dolphin with a red tongue.
GharghulSVG.svg 1993—Present Għargħur (village) A white flag with a red triangle from the bottom and a red star on top.
Flag of Ghaxaq.svg 1993—Present Għaxaq (village) White flag defaced by three green bars.
100px 1993—Present Ħamrun (town) Red flag with a white border. A variant flag is known to exist.
Flag of Iklin.svg 1993—Present Iklin (village) Blue flag with Saint Michael holding a flaming sword and a shield with a green cross. Similar to the Flag of Kiev.
Flag of Isla.svg 1993—Present Isla - Città Invicta (city) A yellow flag with a black saltire, on its ends and centre five white pilgrim's scallops.
Flag of Kalkara, Malta.gif 2009—Present Kalkara (village) Yellow and blue flag with a flame erupting from the line joining the two fields, with a green border.

Current flag adopted in 2009, previous flag with flame on blue field and no green border.

Flag of Kirkop.svg 1993—Present Kirkop (village) White flag with a red band in the centre, connected to the bottom with another red band forming a shape similar to that of a T.
MLT Lija flag.gif 2000—Present Lija (village) Orange branch with three oranges, with a red square on the left and a red one on the right.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag had an orange tree.

100px 1993—Present Luqa (village) White flag with a red saltire. Similar to the Saint Patrick's Saltire and the flag of Marsaxlokk.
Flag of Marsa.svg 1993—Present Marsa (town) A sailing ship on a red and white or blue and white background.
Flag of Marsaskala.svg 1993—Present Marsaskala (village) Green flag divided by a downward pointing wedge shaped like an equilateral or at least nearly equilateral triangle. The wedge is white with three blue wavy fessy lines.
Flag of Marsaxlokk.svg 1993—Present Marsaxlokk (village) White flag with a blue saltire. A variant flag is known to exist. Similar the flag of Luqa.
MelliehaHTML.svg 2000—Present Mellieħa (village) Blue flag with a white six-pointed star and a golden chevron.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag was a blue field with a sinister bendy white line and a white 5-point star upon the sinister chief point.

Flag of Mdina municipality, Malta.svg 1993—Present Mdina (city) Undefaced white-red vertical bicolor. This was the unofficial flag of Malta until 1943. A variant flag is known to exist.
MLT Mġarr flag.gif 2000—Present Mġarr (village) A trilithon, symbol of Skorba Temples, on wavy blue and white lines.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag was blue with a yellow cartwheel.

Flag of Mosta.svg c.2007—Present Mosta (town) A white flag representing the actual town of Mosta with a red cross representing the catholic faith among the people of Mosta. The yellow circle in the middle represents the Rotunda, which is one of the most recognised landmarks in Malta, within the circle is a white star on a blue background representing St.Mary, who is the patron saint of Mosta.

Current flag adopted 2006 or 2007, previous flag had a blue star on a gold circle in the centre.

100px 1993—Present Mqabba (village) Red flag with a white stripe from upper hoist to lower fly.
100px 1993—Present Msida (town) Green flag with two white stripes from upper hoist to lower fly.
Flag of Mtarfa.svg 2000—Present Mtarfa (village) Flag possibly representing the Mtarfa barracks.
100px c.2000—Present Naxxar (town) White-red vertical bicolour, with a counterchanged cross in the middle. Similar to the flags of Sliema and Żurrieq.

Current flag adopted c.2000, previous flag was similar but cross horizontally counterchanged.

Flag of Paola, Malta.gif c.2000—Present Paola (village) Three spirals on the top part representing the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. The three peacocks in the lower part are derived from the arms of the original founder of the town Grand Master Antoine de Paule.

Current flag adopted c.2000, previous flag was a golden spiral on a red background.

Flag of Pembroke.svg 1993—Present Pembroke (village) Fourteen castles representing the coastal watchtowers erected by Grand Master Martin De Redin. The swords represent the fact that Pembroke was built on former British barracks.
PietaHTML.gif 1993—Present Pietà (village) A pelican sitting in a nest with several ducklings, feeding them by letting some blood from her chest, thus vulning herself.
Flag of Qormi.svg 1993—Present Qormi - Città Pinto (city) A white flag with the five crescents of Manuel Pinto de Fonseca.
Flag of Qrendi.svg 2000—Present Qrendi (village) White star on a blue flag with a yellow border.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag had no border.

100px 1993—Present Rabat (town) Flag of Mdina defaced by an olive branch.
Flag of Safi.svg 1993—Present Safi (village) White flag defaced by a single blue bar.
Flag of San Ġiljan.svg 1993—Present San Ġiljan - Portus Sancti Juliani (village) White flag with three vertical red bars.
MLT San Ġwann flag.gif 1993—Present San Ġwann (town) The paschal lamb, a usual attribute of St John the Baptist on a red background.
Flag of Saint Paul's Bay.svg 1993—Present San Pawl il-Baħar (town) The wavy lines are symbolizing the bay. Snake and sword are the attributes of St. Paul, who is said to be shipwrecked on a small island in the bay. The sword is cross-shaped and therefore represents the new religion. The snake refers to the story told in Acts 28, v. 3-6, where St. Paul is attacked by a snake but isn't injured. He throws the snake into the fire and the locals from that moment believe that he is a God.
Flag of Santa Lucija.svg 1993—Present Santa Luċija (village) Sun on a black background.
Flag of Santa Venera.svg 1993—Present Santa Venera (village) Red flag with a white bar, and three red fleur de lys on the bar. The fleur de lys come from the arms of Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt.
Flag of Siġġiewi.svg 2001—Present Siġġiewi - Città Ferdinand (city) A white background with 2 red stripes and a golden cross depicting the villagers' faith in Christianity. A flag half yellow and half red represents this beautiful picturesque village.

Current flag adopted in April 2001, previous flag was similar but with a single red bar in the middle and the cross on the bar.[2]

Flag of Sliema.svg 1993—Present Sliema (town) Traditional flag of Malta with a counterchanged Stella Maris. Similar to the flag of Naxxar.
SwieqiHTML.gif 1993—Present Swieqi (village) Saltire representing the suburb of Saint Andrew's, top and bottom quarters represent the suburb of Ibraġ, and others represent the main village of Swieqi.
100px 1993—Present Tarxien (village) White flag divided by two blue vertical stripes.
MLT Ta' Xbiex flag.gif 1993—Present Ta' Xbiex (village) A ship's wheel on a green background.
Flag of Valletta, Malta.svg 1993—Present Il-Belt Valletta - Città Umilissima (capital city) A red flag with a yellow lion rampant, taken from the arms of Grandmaster de Vallette.
Flag of Xghajra.svg 2000—Present Xgħajra (village) The flag represents the beginning of the town, because the town started after the British government built a battery in what is now Xgħajra. The people working there started living round this battery and thus a small hamlet was formed, which eventually evolved into a small town. A variant flag is known to exist.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag showed three ears of wheat on a blue background.

100px 1993—Present Żabbar - Città Hompesch (city) Red flag with a white saltire.
Flag of Zebbug, Malta.svg 2000—Present Żebbuġ - Città Rohan (city) A canting olive branch above the arms of Grand Master de Rohan. A variant flag is known to exist.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag was similar but without olive branch.

Zejtun flag.svg 1993—Present Żejtun - Città Beland (city) White rectangular flag quartered by a green cross.
100px 1993—Present Żurrieq (village) White-blue horizontal bicolour, with a counterchanged cross in the middle. Similar to the flag of Naxxar.

Gozo

Flag Date Use Description
Flag of Fontana.svg 1993—Present Fontana (village) A yellow flag, on its centre a disc of white and blue wavy stripes.
Għajnsielem Malta flag.svg 1993—Present Għajnsielem (village) Horizontally divided flag, the top stripe about half as wide as the bottom one. The top stripe is blue with a yellow six-pointed star, the bottom stripe is made of six horizontal white and blue wavy stripes.
Flag of Gharb.svg 1993—Present Għarb (village) Horizontally divided flag, the top stripe about half as wide as the bottom one, the separation line is serrated. The top stripe is blue with a yellow six-pointed star, the bottom stripe is white with a red tower.
MLT Għasri flag.gif 1993—Present Għasri (village) Horizontally striped flag, green-yellow-light yellow, stripes proportions about 2:3:1. The top stripe bears three yellow mill rinds, the middle stripe three trees.
Flag of Kercem.svg 1993—Present Kerċem (village) A white flag with a red horizontal line, and three gold rings on the line. Similar to the flag of Fgura.
Flag of Munxar.svg 1993—Present Munxar (village) Blue flag with a white bar with six points.
Flag of Nadur.svg 2000—Present Nadur (village) The sun emerging from the sea.

Current flag adopted in 2000, previous flag showed a sun emerging from the base of the flag.

MLT Qala flag.gif 1993—Present Qala (village) A Gozo boat, and a chief with three six-pointed stars.
MLT San Lawrenz flag.gif 1993—Present San Lawrenz (village) The flag shows St. Lawrence's grill and the palms of martyrdom.
Flag of Sannat.svg 1993—Present Sannat (village) A standing bale of wheat with two sickles above it.
Flag of Victoria, Gozo.svg 1993—Present Ir-Rabat - Città Victoria (capital) The coat of arms of Victoria on a white flag with a red border. Three mountains above the sea in natural colour. The chief with "VR" are the abbreviation of "Victoria Regina" and were added upon Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1897. A variant flag is known to exist.
Flag of Xaghra.svg 1993—Present Xagħra (village) Motif representing the Ggantija Temples.
Flag of Xewkija, Malta.svg 1993—Present Xewkija (village) Yellow flag with a red bar, and thorns on the yellow parts of the flag.
Flag of Żebbuġ, Gozo.svg 1993—Present Żebbuġ (town) An olive tree, as the growing of olives is of great economic importance to the village, and a chief with three six-pointed stars.

See also

References

  1. "Queen Elizabeth II's Personal Flag for Malta 1967-1974 (Malta)", Flags of the World website. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.