Paraguay’s tricolour (red, white, blue) is unique for having different obverse and reverse seals: the coat of arms (front) and the treasury seal with the lion and liberty cap (back). Standardised in 1842, the colours echo revolutionary ideals—courage (red), peace (white), and liberty (blue). The legal ratio is 11:20; decrees define the emblems’ drawings, usage contexts, precedence, and half‑masting.
Paraguay’s national flag is distinguished among world flags by its two faces: the obverse bearing the national coat of arms and the reverse displaying the treasury seal. The horizontal tricolour—red, white, blue—was formalised in 1842, consolidating earlier revolutionary designs adopted after independence in 1811.
Under Spanish rule, colonial emblems prevailed in Asunción. The events of 14–15 May 1811 brought self‑government and a search for republican symbols. Early cockades and flags experimented with red, white, and blue arrangements influenced by regional currents and French revolutionary colours, while local meanings developed: red associated with courage and justice, white with peace and purity, and blue with liberty and steadfastness.
Through the 1820s and 1830s, flags varied in stripe orientation and the presence of arms. The 1842 decree standardised a horizontal tricolour with distinct faces. The obverse arms show a yellow five‑pointed star wreathed by palm and olive with the legend “República del Paraguay.” The reverse treasury seal features a lion seated before a staff topped with a Phrygian cap beneath the motto “Paz y Justicia.”
The legal proportion is 11:20, and subsequent decrees have provided construction sheets for the emblems to harmonise manufacture. Civil, state, and military flags are distinguished by the presence and rendering of the seals, and government guidance addresses fabric, placement, and minimum sizes for public buildings and ceremonies.
Protocol
specifies the order of precedence when flown with foreign flags, procedures for half‑masting during national mourning, nocturnal illumination when kept aloft at night, and dignified retirement. Schools teach correct folding and the difference between obverse and reverse, a practical concern given the flag’s dual design.
Paraguay’s tricolour has persisted through wars, reconstruction, and reform. Artistic refinements in 2013 clarified colour shades and seal details, but the nineteenth‑century concept remains. The result is a flag whose symbolism—courage, peace, justice, liberty—reflects both European revolutionary ideals and Paraguayan civic values.
National commemorations on 14–15 May and 15 August centre the tricolour in parades and rituals. Abroad, the dual‑face design is carefully oriented to display the obverse arms when possible, while state and military contexts use the prescribed versions.