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The flag of Greenland, called Erfalasorput or “our flag” by locals, has two equal horizontal bands of white with a red and white disk in the center. It became official on June 21, 1985.
The very first proposal for a national flag for Greenland was made in 1973, when a number of people made the suggestion that a green-white-blue flag be adopted as the national flag. This suggestion inspired lots of ideas among the people, and many people came forward with designs.
In 1974, a newspaper published 11 proposed designs for the Greenland flag, ten of which had a Scandinavian cross on them. In a vote, however, the Danish flag remained the most popular.
In the year 1980, the government decided to organize a flag design contest, in which 555 designs were submitted. Faced with indecision even then, the government asked for the submission of more designs. Ultimately, the current Greenland flag design, which won by a 14-11 vote, was decided upon, but many people were unhappy that the Scandinavian cross was not chosen as the flag.
The Greenland flag has two equal sized horizontal stripes, the top stripe being white and the bottom being red. Towards the left side of the flag there is a circle divided in half, the top half being red and the bottom being white. The division is along the horizontal demarcating line of the map. The colors, red and white, are the same as those used in the Danish national flag.
Thue Christiansen, the designer, remarked that the white part of the circle signified the icebergs and the red part the fjords. The large white part signifies the ice cap, the the large red part the ocean. It is also an image of a half submerged sun of the horizon, with the reflection of the rays of the sun in the ocean.
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