Before the flag that flies today was selected, an international competition was held in June 2007 for Kosovo’s state flag. A total of 993 proposals were submitted, offering a wide variety of designs. From this process, the current flag was ultimately chosen to represent Kosovo’s identity and sovereignty.
The United Nations set specific rules for Kosovo’s flag:
- All symbols had to reflect Kosovo’s multi-ethnic nature.
- Designs could not use the double-headed Albanian eagle or simply the colors red and black (Albanian flag), or red, blue, and white (Serbian flag).
- All proposals had to be rectangular.
A group of Kosovo politicians and experts, known as the “Unity Team,” selected several designs to forward to the Kosovo Assembly for a vote.
Some of the notable proposals included:
- A blue field with a white map of Kosovo surrounded by five stars, representing the country’s ethnic groups. The largest star represented ethnic Albanians. This design was proposed by Joseph J. DioGuardi, inspired by the flags of Albania and the USA.
- A flag resembling the Albanian national flag with six stars on a red and blue background.
- A design based on the UN flag and the Albanian eagle, proposed in 2005.
- A vertical tricolor of black, white, and red, featuring a spiral symbol in the center representing the Dardanian rotating sun.
The winning design was submitted by Muhamer Ibrahimi, who created both the flag and the coat of arms of the Republic of Kosovo, which were adopted when Kosovo declared independence.
