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Panama

by Zeljko Heimer, 26 January 1996
Flag adopted 20 December 1903
coat of arms adopted 4 June 1904
legislated officially 15 December 1949.

The Flag
Coat of Arms
Roundel

See also

The Flag

The current national flag was confirmed by Law 48 of 1925, and ratified by law 28 of 28 March 1941. The blue and red is for the Conservative Party and Liberal Party; the white is for peace; the blue star is the purity and honesty of the life of the country; the red star is for authority and law in the country.
Jaume Olle' , 4 September 1996

From: http://www.pa/patria/simbolos.html , located by Jarig Bakker:
Flag of Panama
The Panamanian flag was design by Mr. Amador Guerrero and made by [his wife] Ms. Maria Ossa de Amador.
The Panamanian flag is a rectangle divided into four quarters: the top hoist one, white with a five-pointed blue star; the top fly one, red; the bottom hoist one, blue; and the bottom fly one, white with a five-pointed red star
The combination of its three colours has this meaning: white stands for the long-expected peace through the pacifical union of the historical parties, the Liberal one represented by red and the Conservative one by blue.
Baptism of the Flag
On December 20th 1903 the emblem was baptised, acting as Godparents [sic] Dr. Gerardo Ortega with Ms. Lastenia de Lewis and Mr. José Agustín Arango with Ms. Manuela M. de Arosemena. Rev. Fray Bernardino de la Concepción García gave his blessing.
Legal adoption of the Flag
The Constituent Assembly provisionally approved the flag by Law 64 of 1904. It was definitively approved through Law 4 of 1925 written by the National Assembly and ratified by Law of March 28th 1941.
Translated by Santiago Dotor , 13 December 1999

From Smith [smi75]:
"The orderly division of the field suggested alternation of the parties at the helm of the government. blue and red were also associated with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which flank Panama."
From DK Pocket Book [udk97]: "Red was the colour of the Conservatives and blue that of the Liberals." Error?
Ivan Sache , 26 December 1999

Crampton - The World of Flags (1990: '...it is said that its colors stand for the Colorados (the "Reds", or radical party) and for the Conservatives, the traditional parties of the time, with white for peace. It was designbed by the first President, Manuel Amador Guerrero, and first hoisted on 20 December 1903...'
The Encyclopedia (1999): 'The blue and red are the colors of the main political parties (Conservatives and Liberals respectively) and the white denotes peace between them. The blue also symbolizes the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, and the red stands for the blood of those who lost their lives for their country. The blue star represents the civic virtues of purity and honesty, and the red star is a symbol of authority and law.'
Jarig Bakker , 26 December 1999

a friend of mine told me that in the recent events of retrocession of the Canal, Panama National Flags sere usually seen in ration 1 : 2 can anyone confirm ?
Armand du Payrat, 28 December 1999

Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms and the shield , by Fred Drews , 21 November 1999

There is a nice image of the CoA at: http://www.pa/patria/simbolos.html
Jarig Bakker , 30 November 1999

From: http://www.pa/patria/simbolos.html , located by Jarig Bakker:
National Arms of Panama
The National coat-of-arms was designed by Mr. Nicanor Villalaz with the help of his brother Sebastián Villalaz.
Translated by Santiago Dotor , 13 December 1999

This image of unclear origin is outdated. Pedersen [ped71], as well as [smi75] and [udk97], shows NINE STARS above the shield, corresponding to the nine provinces in which the country is divided. There are now also three indigenous districts, including the "Comarca de San Blas", a.k.a. "Kuna Yala" inhabited by the Cunas Indians .
The description of the arms is in [smi75]:
"'For the Benefit of the World' [Pro Mundi Beneficio] proclaims the motto of Panama, referring to the canal which divides the country physically but provides it with a substantial portion of the national income. The arms incorporate other symbols as well. The civil wars of the past, represented by saber and rifle, have given way to the tools of peaceful labour, promising the prosperity and progress symbolized by the cornucopia and winged wheel. The sun and moon both appear in the central panel of the shield to indicate that independence was achieved at the hour of twilight. The green background of the coat of arms (official, but rarely shown) is a reminder of the nation's tropical vegetation."
[udk97] has again a problem with colours: in the image of the arms, the red and blue stars are inversed in regard of the image above and [smi75] image!
Ivan Sache , 26 December 1999

Roundel

by Ivan Sache, 2 July 1997

Source : Album des Pavillons et des Marques distinctives.