Fred Brownell, the man credited with designing South Africa’s post-apartheid flag, has died at the age of 79 at his home in Pretoria late last week.
South Africa’s Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, described Brownell as one of the country’s “greatest patriots and national hero. “In his lifetime Fred Brownell designed many coats of arms & flags including the flag for Namibia,” the Minister added.
The South African flag he designed 25 years ago, symbolizes the convergence of different cultures into one unified country. The country was just transiting from the apartheid-era when Mandela had been released from jail.
The flag was adopted on April 27, 1994 at the beginning of the first post-apartheid elections. It replaced the flag that had been used since 1928.
A press statement by the Minister said he was “distraught to learn of the passing of a true South African hero whose named is etched in the history of post-democratic South Africa.”
The statement added in part: “The name “Fred Brownell” is the one that is synonymous with the journey taken by this fledgling democracy in the role he played in designing and producing the flag of post-democratic South Africa.”
