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Flag of the National Party

Adopted	1939
Relinquished	1993

The Flag of the National Party (Afrikaans: Vlag van die Nasionale Party) was a political flag used by the National Party, the ruling party of South Africa during apartheid. The flag was created in 1939 and abandoned in 1993.

History

The National Party initially used no flag for its first twenty-five years. However following, D. F. Malan breaking to keep the National Party out of a merger with the South African Party into the United Party in 1934, it was decided in 1935 they needed a flag with the Junior National Part Conference deciding it must include orange as the party's official colour. The Orange Free State National Party Congress came up with what would become the party flag. They suggested a gunpowder horn on an orange background and it was adopted in 1939. The horn (known as the kruithoring) came from the coat of arms of the Orange Free State and was symbolic of the Boer's Great Trek.

The flag was used as the main symbol of the party until the 1980s when a new logo was adopted for the 1981 South African general election. The last official use of the flag was the 1989 South African general election. Due to the end of apartheid and the National Party opening up membership to non-Afrikaners, a new flag and logo was adopted in 1993 with the old flag being abandoned. The flag still retained popularity amongst hardcore National Party supporters in the run up to the 1994 South African general election. Whilst the African National Congress' Nelson Mandela was visiting a school in Tafelsig on an election drive, five National Party supporters waved the flag at him. Mandela responded "“What a pity there are those who are raising the flag of the National Party ... They are not sober. They only have the courage to hoist the NP flag because they are not sober."