Flag of Greece designs differ according to the historical era they were used in and in accordance with the political scene in Greece at the time. The first flag to be used by a head of state of Greece was that of King Otto of Greece. Following the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832, the 17-year old Bavarian prince Otto was selected as king for the newfound monarchy. A royal decree dated 4 (16) April 1833 prescribed a number of maritime flags, including the royal standard. This flag, set at a 7:10 ratio, was a variant of the Greek white-cross-on-blue and
Flag of the Soviet Union statute on the flag was adopted which resulted in a change of the hammer's handle length and the shape of the sickle. A final modification to the flag was adopted in 1980 in which the colour was brightened to a lighter shade of red. The flag continued to be the official national flag until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Its imagery is now the basis for the flags of many communist parties: a yellow hammer and sickle on a red background. The flag of the Soviet Union consisted of a plain red flag with a gold hammer crossed with