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-Spangled Banner (flag) was sewn by local flagmaker Mary Young Pickersgill under a government commission in 1813 at a cost of $405.90 (). George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry, specified "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". Mary Pickersgill stitched the flag from a combination of cotton and dyed English wool bunting, assisted by her daughter, two nieces, and an African American indentured servant. (Her elderly mother may also have helped.) The flag has fifteen horizontal red and white stripes, as well as fifteen white stars in the blue field. The two additional