At the height of tensions among NATO allies over U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for Greenland to become U.S. territory, he posted online a map of the island covered in the colors of the American flag.
That potentially perilous fight now appears to have been averted after Greenland, Denmark and the United States announced a deal over the future of the icy, mineral-rich territory.
The accord, to be signed Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, is set to give the U.S. a bigger military presence on the semiautonomous Danish territory — and could lead to the Stars and Stripes flying more often near Greenland's own distinctive flag.
Here’s a look at Greenland’s relatively young flag:
A flag with simplicity and symbolism
The flag of the world’s largest island is typical of the most effective flags: Simple in construction.
Designed by Greenland native Thue Christiansen, the flag was adopted on June 21, 1985. It features two equal horizontal bands of white and red, and a large circle positioned off-center, slightly closer to the flagpole.
The circle, which like Japan’s flag represents the sun, is “counterchanged” — meaning that it's divided into red and white in the reverse color of the two bands.
The offset catches the eye and carries symbolism of a sun setting on the horizon, suggestive of the light and relative warmth that return in midsummer to the island. About two-thirds of Greenland sits inside the Arctic Circle.
Longtime links to Denmark feature in the flag
Greenland today is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, which ruled the island for centuries. The choice of red and white, the same colors of the Danish national flag, reflects that longtime affiliation.
A conscious decision was made to highlight the island’s distinctiveness and autonomy: Unlike the flags of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark itself, Greenland’s flag is the only one representing a Nordic territory without an offset cross.
In Greenlandic, the flag is called both Erfalasorput — “our flag” in Greenlandic — and Aappalaartoq, meaning “the red one.”
A flag is finally chosen after an initial impasse
The notion of a flag for Greenland first surfaced in the early 1970s.
In 1979, the island won home rule from Denmark after a referendum. The new government, the Naalakkersuisut, organized a design contest to create a new national flag: Hundreds of submissions poured in.
Greenland’s parliament was unable to reach consensus, and an impasse took several years to resolve. The choices were winnowed down to two — Christiansen’s design and another featuring a green and white Nordic cross design.
Parliament finally voted in 1985. A narrow majority of members — 14 of 25 — opted for the flag flying over Greenland today.
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Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Geneva.
