Sint Maarten, as a Dutch possession on the island of Saint Martin, had been solely under the Netherlands national flag until, after becoming a component of the Netherlands Antilles, it also began flying that territory’s flag when it was introduced in 1959. However, Sint Maarten wished to have its own flag. Many suggestions for a flag design were made, including incorporating a number of distinctive symbols, before the government decided upon the final version. That flag, which included the coat of arms of Sint Maarten (established for the territory on Nov. 17, 1982), was introduced on June 13, 1985. Upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on Oct. 10, 2010, Sint Maarten became an autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the flag of Sint Maarten replaced that of the Netherlands Antilles as the territorial standard.
The flag’s main colours—red, white, and blue—reflect those of both the Dutch flag and the French national flag (Sint Maarten shares the island with Saint-Martin, an overseas collectivity of France). The design of the coat of arms is centred on a rendering of the distinctive courthouse at Philipsburg (Sint Maarten’s capital), which is set within an orange-bordered light blue shield (representing the colours of the Dutch royal family). There are also a bouquet of yellow sage blossoms (genus Lantana) with green leaves, a rendering of the white monument demarcating the border between the French and Dutch parts of the island, and a gray pelican superimposed on a yellow sun above the shield. Wrapped around the lower portion of the shield is a yellow ribbon containing, in light blue lettering, the territorial motto: “Semper progrediens” (“Always progressing”). The colours of the flag and coat of arms symbolize blue for the sea, light blue for the sky, green for the fertility of the island, red for the blood of the inhabitants, and yellow for the energy of the people.