There are three Eritrean flags that Eritreans have used to identify with their country, Eritrea: the Eritrean federal flag, the 1977 EPLF flag, and the official Eritrean national flag.
The Blue flag was the Eritrean federation flag. After Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia in 1952, the blue flag became the federation flag of Eritrea. The federation flag was the only official flag Eritreans had before Eritrean independence. The blue background was to honor the flag of the UN, which assisted the country towards self-government. The two green olive branches also suggested the UN flag.
After the Eritrean Liberation Front launched the struggle for Eritrean independence, the blue Eritrean flag became the symbol of the ELF and the Eritrean struggle for independence.
The Eritrean federal flag was created and designed by Degiat Beyene Zahilay, who was born in Tekonda, Akele Guzay, Eritrea.
In 1977, the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front created the EPLF flag. The red color symbolizes the blood shed for national liberation, green for agricultural wealth, the blue color for maritime resources, and the yellow star for national mineral resources.
The Official Eritrean Flag:
The official Eritrean flag was initiated on May 23, 1993, when Eritrea officially became independent. It is a combination of the Eritrean federal flag and the 1977 EPLF flag. Here, the red color stands for the bloodshed for the national liberation of Eritrea, green for agricultural wealth, blue for maritime resources of Eritrea. The yellow star replaced the yellow version of the olive branch of the Eritrean federal flag.
All flags have their meanings. None is considered better or worse than the others: the first Eritrean flag, the EPLF flag, and the Eritrean national flag.