Republic of South Africa, 1982

When South Africa became a republic in 1961, the flag didn’t change. Still, there was pressure to change it, particularly from Afrikaners who resented that the British Union Jack was a part of the flag, next to those of the old Boer republics of the Orange Free State and Transvaal. There was a proposal by the then Prime Minister, Hendrik Verwoerd, but he was assassinated in 1966, and the flag stayed the same. In 1982 there was a slight change: the blue on the lower stripe changed from dark “Union” blue to a lighter “Solway” blue.