The story behind the flag of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot artist who designed it

On June 23, 2009, he passed away at the age of 85, with his homeland very different from what he had envisioned and far from his home, the great Limassol-born artist İsmet Güney. He is the man to whom we owe the flag and coat of arms of the Republic of Cyprus—which, after we had subjected it to the wear and tear of our mistakes over the years, we are now striving to preserve. For the artist designed it as a unified whole, but left it divided when he closed his eyes.

A hallmark of Güney’s vision for Cyprus—and specifically his patriotism—is captured in an interview he gave in 2003 to RIK, 29 years after the invasion and the division of the island—and this is significant. “The color white symbolized purity and the resolution of all problems through the creation of the Republic; the color of bronze symbolized the origin of the name ‘Cyprus’; the olive branches represented peace between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and the map of Cyprus would strengthen the identity of the new state, given that it was small and unknown.”

The History Behind the Flag

Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the flag of the Republic of Cyprus must be a joint choice of the President and Vice President of the state and must be “of a neutral design and color,” apparently ruling out Turkey’s red and Greece’s blue to avoid the nationalist tensions that were already plaguing the island. Before independence, the British proposed their own design, which was rejected by Makarios and Fazil Kuchuk.

Consequently, a few months before the Republic of Cyprus was officially proclaimed an independent state, an international competition was announced, and 28-year-old Günei expressed interest in participating with his own design after learning about it through a newspaper ad. According to the artist himself, he received an invitation from the Presidential Palace, where he met with President Makarios, who informed him that he was the winner of the competition, as he and Vice President Koutsiouk had singled out his design from among 500 other entries.

Impressed by Güney, Makarios subsequently asked him to also design the coat of arms of the Republic of Cyprus, its first three commemorative stamps, and the first design for the new Cypriot lira. The Cypriot flag was to be raised for the first time on August 16, 1960, as the first national flag to feature the country’s geographical outline, and it remains to this day one of the most distinctive national flags in the world.

A Pioneering Artist

In 1947, he became the first Turkish Cypriot painter to hold an exhibition of his artwork. His ingenuity led him down many artistic paths. Güneş was involved in poetry, playwriting, graphic design, and advertising. He contributed greatly to the development of the arts in Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community in particular, as he taught, wrote columns for newspapers, founded one of the country’s first painting workshops and a photography club, and served as a founding member of artistic organizations and theater groups.

Ismet Günay did not receive the recognition he deserved for the breadth of his artistic output over the course of his long career. At least not within the Greek Cypriot community, with the division of the island perhaps being the most significant reason. For in the Turkish Cypriot community, Güney is still remembered today as one of the greatest Turkish Cypriot artists. The occupation and division of Cyprus were devastating for the island, just as they were—and remain—for the memory of an artist as great as İsmet Günay.