Libya's Former Flag

The flag of the Kingdom of Libya and the Flag of Independence (2011)

Now that Muammar Gaddafi is deceased, Libya will be undergoing many changes. One of those changes is going to be Libya's flag. The flag flown under the Gaddafi regime was simply a plain green field with no other characteristics. Adopted on November 11, 1977, it was the only national flag in the world with only one color and no design, emblem, or other details. Green is the traditional color of Islam which is Libya's main religion and perhaps the reason for the design of the flag.

The Libyan independence flag was formerly the flag of the Kingdom of Libya. It was adopted in 1951 when Libya gained full independence from Italy and officially readopted on August 3, 2011.

The Libyan flag has horizontal bands of red, black and green with a white crescent and star centered on the black stripe. The red represents the blood of the Libyan people who died under the Italian fascist rule. The black respresents the black days that Libyans lived under the occupation of the Italians. The green represents the era of independence, freedom and a new start for the Libyan people. The crescent and star represent the main religion of Libya which is Islam.

This flag flew until the coup d'état of 1969. This was when Muammar Gaddafi became the de facto leader of the country on September 1, 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan military officers against King Idris I. While Gaddafi was in power the flag was changed many times finally settled on a plain green field.

During the Libyan civil war in 2011, the opposition used what is considered the original flag of Libya (the flag of the Kingdom of Libya) along with several variations. The varients of the flag were a simple tri-color or didn't include the green stripe.


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