The first flag and coat of arms of the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina were officially adopted on this day in 1992.
The flag with lilies, the coat of arms and the anthem “Jedna si jedina” were the official symbols of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war and short after the termination of war conflicts.
The historian Enver Imamović proposed an idea to replace the BiH symbols from the Socialist period with motives from centuries-old tradition of BiH, the medieval Bosnia, in 1992.
Thereby, the new flag became a white surface containing blue shield with six golden lilies, divided into two fields with. It is actually a replica of the coat of arms of the first Bosnian king Tvrtko I Kotromanić.
The medieval symbols were taken as the motives of the modern BiH, because the medieval period best describes the unity of all nations in BiH. Flag with lilies was officially presented for the first time on May 22, 1992 in front of the building of the United Nations in New York.
Although that flag did not contain any symbols which excluded any group of people in BiH, by the decision of the high representative Carlos Vestendorp from 1998 it was substituted with the current flag and coat of arms, which is supposed to symbolize the European path and orientation of BiH.
