George Flagg was best known for his role in Des Moines city government and service as Councilman-at-Large on the Des Moines City Council from 1980 to 2002. As an at-large council member, he represented constituents from all four wards of the city of Des Moines.

Born in Waterloo, Iowa, he grew up in both Illinois and Iowa. He graduated from Boone High School in Boone, Iowa in 1943.

Flagg completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa and went on to attend law school in Iowa City, where he was awarded a law degree in 1949. Upon passing the Bar examination, he was at that time the youngest attorney in Iowa. He began his private law practice in Des Moines in 1950 and later joined the law firm of Powers, Sloane, Jordan and Marks.

His political life took root when he ran for Polk County attorney in 1956. George Flagg was the political conservative in the race. He lost in the primary to fellow Republican Robert D. Ray. Ray then lost in the general election.

“We both ended up in the same place” said Ray, who went on to become Governor of Iowa.

Flagg traveled to 110 countries during his lifetime and to all 50 states. He especially enjoyed meeting with international Sister City delegations who visited Des Moines, and he also represented the city on three Sister City delegation trips to China, France and Mexico.

Flagg’s list of community honors and organizations were many. He served on the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission, the Central Advisory Board, the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Budget Committee, and was a charter member of Des Moines Fair Tax Association. He was recognized for his community service by League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Mid-Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Des Moines Police and Firefighters Unions. He also appointed the first Native American to a city board.

In an interview that appeared in the July 21, 1980, edition of the Des Moines Tribune, Flagg recalled his activism at the University of Iowa. The interview occurred just before his election to the Des Moines City Council on August 5, 1980. He cited his boycott of barber shops that would not cut the hair of Black students. Flagg was a member of an Iowa City group called the Social Action Committee, which in 1946 called for the end of racial discrimination by white-owned barber shops.

To honor his service to the community and retirement from the City Council, fellow council members in 2002 unanimously voted in favor of the renaming of Valley Drive between Fleur Drive and Park Avenue to honor George Flagg.