Flag of Somalia come up with a design in preparation for independence. The flag was first used in the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the short-lived State of Somaliland, which united on July 1, 1960, to form the Somali Republic. As an ethnic flag, the five-pointed white "Star of Unity" in its center represents the areas where the Somali ethnic group has traditionally resided, namely Djibouti, Somaliland (former British occupied land), the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and southern Somalia (former Italian colony). The Somali flag's light blue backdrop was originally influenced by the flag of the United
Star of South Africa, Silver a Maltese cross, with the arms in dark blue enamel, with protea flowers between the arms of the cross. Two four-pointed stars, superimposed on one another, are mounted on the cross. The reverse has the . The decoration is worn around the neck on a dark blue ribbon, 35 millimetres wide, with a 2 millimetres wide white band in the centre. Recipients also wear a silver breast star with eight multi-rayed points, which displays the obverse of the decoration in its centre. The reverse of the breast star has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms in the centre, with