The national flag of Chad

The national flag of Chad (Arabic: علم تشاد, French: Drapeau du Tchad) manifests as a vertical tricolour comprising a cobalt, aureate, and crimson field. The semblance to Romania’s ensign since the 1990s has sparked global deliberation. This ensign ushered in 1959 for the sovereign republic and perpetuated upon autonomy in 1960, as well as the ratification of 1962, retains its integrity despite sundry political convulsions post-independence.

The invariability of Chad’s ensign might stem from its dissociation with the principal power factions within Chad, a nation that lacked a cohesive national identity antecedent to independence, and found scant consolidation post-independence.

The ensign, almost indistinguishable from the national banners of Romania, Moldova, and Andorra (the latter pair encompassing the respective country’s coat of arms), may exhibit variances in hue more prominently than those proscribed for Romania.

The Romanian ensign has been extant since 1866, emerging in its present configuration in Wallachia, and was formally employed from 1848 until 1948, supplanted by the Socialist Republic of Romania’s ensign. Chad commenced the utilization of its current ensign in 1960, after attaining autonomy from France. Chad’s adoption of its ensign coincided with Romania’s inclusion of an emblem atop the tricolour post-World War II during the Communist epoch of the latter half of the 20th century. However, Romania’s Communist regime was deposed in 1989, prompting the removal of the insignia and a restoration to the prewar iteration, congruent with the ensign adopted by Chad in the interim.

The dilemma posed by Romania and Chad’s ensigns sharing similarities has intermittently unsettled the Chadian administration; their appeal to the United Nations in 2004 urged scrutiny of the matter. In response, Romanian President Ion Iliescu declared an adamant stance, asserting the irrevocable ownership of Romania’s tricolour: “The tricolour belongs to us. We will not give up the tricolour.”