The flag of the Czech Republic is the same as the flag of the former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia the Czech Republic kept the Czechoslovak flag while the Slovak Republic adopted their own flag (see Velvet Divorce).
The flag contains red and white colors derived from the ancient Czech coat of arms (silver lion on the red field); because the flag was almost identical with Polish and had the same colors as Austrian flag, a blue wedge was added (1920).
The author of the flag is somewhat disputed but most vexillologists agree on Jaroslav Kursa (1875 – 1950), an archivist of the Department of Home Affairs, as the original author of the present flag appearance. The flag has been officially approved by the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia on 30 March 1920. Since then, the flag has been used continuously, excluding the World War II occupation years.
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