flag of Kosovo

Before Kosovo declared independence on Feb. 17, 2008, it had never had the political status that allowed it a flag of its own. Following World War II, Kosovo was incorporated into socialist Yugoslavia as an autonomous region (later autonomous province) of the republic of Serbia. The federal government authorized flags only for the several Yugoslav constituent republics. However, ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo were eventually allowed to fly the Albanian flag.

Kosovo remained part of Serbia following the dissolution of socialist Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, but a separatist movement in the province gained strength throughout the decade. In 1998 Serbia undertook punitive action against separatists in Kosovo, which in 1999 was countered by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Kosovo was put under United Nations administration, which remained there after Kosovo’s 2008 proclamation of independence until largely replaced in 2009 by officials of the European Union (EU). Serbia and a large number of other countries remained opposed to that independence declaration.

A formal competition was held to select a national flag for Kosovo. A great many of the entries were based on the design of the Albanian flag, either directly or indirectly. The pattern chosen—influenced by the EU flag—made a clear statement emphasizing Kosovo as a multiethnic country. The EU flag’s blue and yellow colours were used for the flag’s background and silhouette of the national territory, respectively, and the EU flag’s circle of white stars was paralleled in the arc of white stars on the Kosovo flag. The stars were said to stand for the six predominant ethnic groups of the country (Albanians, Bosniaks, Gorani, Roma, Serbs, and Turks). However, ethnic Albanian and Serbian residents in Kosovo continued to make use of their respective national flags.