Flag of Ba'athist Syria

During the rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1963 to 2024, and later under the Assad family from 1970 until the regime's collapse in 2024, Ba'athist Syria used different national flags of Syria, all featuring a red, white, and black triband bearing either two or three green stars or the national coat of arms.

Following the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état, the Revolutionary Command Council adopted a new flag, a red–white–black horizontal triband with three green stars. The three stars represented Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, while also symbolizing the Ba'athist principles of Waḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya ("unity, freedom, and socialism"). In 1972, after Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics, the three green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish. Upon the dissolution of the federation, Syria restored the two-star red–white–black tricolour in 1980 by readopting the former flag of the United Arab Republic to symbolize its continued commitment to Arab unity. The flag had been used until 1961, when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic. During the Syrian civil war, the two-star flag became closely associated with the Ba'ath Party and the government of Bashar al-Assad. After the establishment of the Syrian caretaker government, it was replaced by the green–white–black tricolour with three red stars, which became the new national flag of Syria. The green–white–black tricolour with three red stars had previously been used as the flag of the Syrian opposition during the Syrian revolution and the subsequent Syrian civil war. Following the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, the two-star flag ceased to be the national flag of Syria, but it continues to be used by pro-Assad loyalists in parts of western Syria.

Design

Color scheme Color schemeGreenWhiteBlackRedGoldRGB0–122–61255–255–2550–0–0206–17–38239–187–34Hexadecimal#007A3D#FFFFFF#000000#CE1126#EFBB22CMYK89, 27, 100, 150, 0, 0, 075, 68, 67, 9012, 100, 98, 37, 26, 99, 0Pantone—WhiteBlack186 C7409 CValid for

History 1963–1972

Following the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état and the agreement over the formation of a United Arab Republic between Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, the Revolutionary Command Council adopted a new flag, a red–white–black horizontal triband with three green stars, on 1 May 1963,https://www.majalla.com/node/323456/%D9%88%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%82-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B0%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF which remained in use until 1 January 1972. In February 1963, the Ba'athist regime also came to power in Iraq, and the two Ba'athist governments began negotiations in Cairo to once again form a union. The process failed after the Iraqi Ba'athist government was overthrown in November 1963, but both Syria and Iraq adopted a new flag intended to represent the proposed union. This flag differed only slightly from the flag of the UAR, with the two stars replaced by three to represent the addition of Iraq to the proposed federation. The three stars represented the unity of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, as well as the three pillars of Ba'athism: Waḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya ("unity, freedom, and socialism").

1972–1980

President Hafez al-Assad adopted a new flag on 1 January 1972, as Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics. The green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish (the symbol of the tribe of Muhammad). The eagle bore a ribbon bearing the name of the federation, but unlike Egypt and Libya, Syria did not include its name on the coat of arms. This flag served as the official national flag during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Although the federation was dissolved in 1977, Syria continued to use the flag until 29 March 1980.

On 30 March 1980, it was replaced by the two-star flag to symbolize Syria's continued commitment to Arab unity.

1980–2024

The national flag of Ba'athist Syria used between 1980 and 2024 was first adopted in 1958 when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic, and remained in use until 1961. Since its first adoption, variations of the red–white–black flag were used in various Arab unions involving Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq. Although Syria was not part of any Arab state union after 1961, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to demonstrate Syria's commitment to Arab unity. The flag's use became disputed because it was often associated with the Ba'ath Party and came to represent parties loyal to Bashar al-Assad's government during the Syrian civil war.

For times, the Ba'ath Party's flag was even more used than Syrian flag.

The Ba'athist Syrian flag was described in Article 6 of the 2012 Constitution of Syria. The first paragraph of the article stated:

Legal status and usage since 2024

Following the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, the two-star red–white–black tricolour, which Syria had restored on 30 March 1980 by readopting the former flag of the United Arab Republic, ceased to be the national flag. Following the establishment of the Syrian caretaker government, it was replaced by the green–white–black tricolour with three red stars, which became the new national flag of Syria. The United Nations also updated its list of member states to display Syria's new national flag.

Other platforms, such as Microsoft Windows, still display the two-star red–white–black tricolour of Ba'athist Syria as the emoji for the Syrian Arab Republic. Meanwhile, loyalists of the deposed Assad regime continued to use the two-star red–white–black tricolour in parts of western Syria.

Derived flags Armed forces flags

Other derived flags

Gallery Historical usage

Two-star flags

Flag of Ba'athist Syria

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