Chiha was a member of the committee appointed to choose a flag for the future Lebanese state. Michel Chiha was put in charge of incorporating into its design symbols of the nation. There was disagreement over the exact shade of red being proposed for the vertical framing bands and the actual shape of the cedar tree and Michel Chiha believed that the shade of colour extracted from murex shells by the Phoenicians of ancient Tyre and which was used to colour the bright senatorial togas of ancient Rome ought to be used on the flag.