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The flag of Greenland was designed by Greenland native Thue Christiansen. It features two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of centre. The top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white. The entire flag measures 18 by 12 parts; each stripe measures 6 parts; the disk is 8 parts in diameter, horizontally offset by 7 parts from the hoist to the centre of the circle, and vertically centered.
Its local name in the Greenlandic language is Erfalasorput, which means "our flag". The term Aappalaartoq (meaning "the red") is also used for both the Greenlandic flag and the Dannebrog. Today, Greenlanders display both the Erfalasorput and the Dannebrog -often side-by-side. It is also the only Nordic flag without a Nordic Cross.
Greenland first entertained the idea of a flag of its own in 1973 when five Greenlanders proposed a green, white and blue flag. The following year, a newspaper solicited eleven design proposals (all but one of which was a Nordic cross) and polled the people to determine the most popular.
The Dannebrog was better liked than any. Little came of this effort.
In 1978, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland, making it an equal member of the Rigsfællesskab. The home rule government held an official call for flag proposals, receiving 555 (of which 293 were submitted by Greenlanders).
