_{Inez Sanchez, deceased}

By Charles Gladden

BELMOPAN, Mon. July 28, 2025

The man responsible for co-creating Belize’s national flag, Inez Sanchez, passed away at his home in Belmopan minutes before midnight on Thursday, July 24.

Sanchez and Everal Waight, two public officers at the time, submitted the iconic design of the country’s flag when they entered an open competition held in 1981. During the competition, the two major political parties, the People’s United Party (PUP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP), had each made it publicly known that flags without their respective primary colors – blue and red—would not be accepted.

The flag features a white disc at the center containing the coat of arms held by two men of mestizo and African descent, respectively, and 50 leaves signifying the year the PUP was established, 1950. The primary color of the flag is royal blue—the official color of the PUP, and two strips of red at the top and bottom represent the UDP. Thus was the iconic flag created.

Notably, Belize is the only country to have sketches of humans as a major design element on its national flag.

While Sanchez was one of the two people who created the flag, he was more known for his contribution to education in Belize.

Originally from Caledonia Village, Corozal District, he began his career in education at 14 years old as a pupil teacher, then climbed the career ladder to eventually become Chief Education Officer in 1978, when he spearheaded initiatives at various educational levels.

Sanchez played a significant role in the creation of Escuela Mexico in San Roman Village, and was the University of Belize’s first native history professor.

He was 92.