diff --git a/Doc/library/datetime.rst b/Doc/library/datetime.rst
index 0f042374b64..c3a66a4674b 100644
--- a/Doc/library/datetime.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/datetime.rst
@@ -2443,6 +2443,11 @@ convenience. These parameters all correspond to ISO 8601 date values.
 |           | Week 01 is the week containing |                        |       |
 |           | Jan 4.                         |                        |       |
 +-----------+--------------------------------+------------------------+-------+
+| ``%:z``   | UTC offset in the form         | (empty), +00:00,       | \(6)  |
+|           | ``±HH:MM[:SS[.ffffff]]``       | -04:00, +10:30,        |       |
+|           | (empty string if the object is | +06:34:15,             |       |
+|           | naive).                        | -03:07:12.345216       |       |
++-----------+--------------------------------+------------------------+-------+
 
 These may not be available on all platforms when used with the :meth:`strftime`
 method. The ISO 8601 year and ISO 8601 week directives are not interchangeable
@@ -2458,6 +2463,9 @@ differences between platforms in handling of unsupported format specifiers.
 .. versionadded:: 3.6
    ``%G``, ``%u`` and ``%V`` were added.
 
+.. versionadded:: 3.12
+   ``%:z`` was added.
+
 Technical Detail
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
@@ -2530,8 +2538,8 @@ Notes:
    available).
 
 (6)
-   For a naive object, the ``%z`` and ``%Z`` format codes are replaced by empty
-   strings.
+   For a naive object, the ``%z``, ``%:z`` and ``%Z`` format codes are replaced
+   by empty strings.
 
    For an aware object:
 
@@ -2557,6 +2565,10 @@ Notes:
       For example, ``'+01:00:00'`` will be parsed as an offset of one hour.
       In addition, providing ``'Z'`` is identical to ``'+00:00'``.
 
+   ``%:z``
+      Behaves exactly as ``%z``, but has a colon separator added between
+      hours, minutes and seconds.
+
    ``%Z``
       In :meth:`strftime`, ``%Z`` is replaced by an empty string if
       :meth:`tzname` returns ``None``; otherwise ``%Z`` is replaced by the
diff --git a/Lib/datetime.py b/Lib/datetime.py
index 00ded32cc3e..007114ae622 100644
--- a/Lib/datetime.py
+++ b/Lib/datetime.py
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ def _format_time(hh, mm, ss, us, timespec='auto'):
     else:
         return fmt.format(hh, mm, ss, us)
 
-def _format_offset(off):
+def _format_offset(off, sep=':'):
     s = ''
     if off is not None:
         if off.days < 0:
@@ -189,9 +189,9 @@ def _format_offset(off):
             sign = "+"
         hh, mm = divmod(off, timedelta(hours=1))
         mm, ss = divmod(mm, timedelta(minutes=1))
-        s += "%s%02d:%02d" % (sign, hh, mm)
+        s += "%s%02d%s%02d" % (sign, hh, sep, mm)
         if ss or ss.microseconds:
-            s += ":%02d" % ss.seconds
+            s += "%s%02d" % (sep, ss.seconds)
 
             if ss.microseconds:
                 s += '.%06d' % ss.microseconds
@@ -202,9 +202,10 @@ def _wrap_strftime(object, format, timetuple):
     # Don't call utcoffset() or tzname() unless actually needed.
     freplace = None  # the string to use for %f
     zreplace = None  # the string to use for %z
+    colonzreplace = None  # the string to use for %:z
     Zreplace = None  # the string to use for %Z
 
-    # Scan format for %z and %Z escapes, replacing as needed.
+    # Scan format for %z, %:z and %Z escapes, replacing as needed.
     newformat = []
     push = newformat.append
     i, n = 0, len(format)
@@ -222,26 +223,28 @@ def _wrap_strftime(object, format, timetuple):
                     newformat.append(freplace)
                 elif ch == 'z':
                     if zreplace is None:
-                        zreplace = ""
                         if hasattr(object, "utcoffset"):
-                            offset = object.utcoffset()
-                            if offset is not None:
-                                sign = '+'
-                                if offset.days < 0:
-                                    offset = -offset
-                                    sign = '-'
-                                h, rest = divmod(offset, timedelta(hours=1))
-                                m, rest = divmod(rest, timedelta(minutes=1))
-                                s = rest.seconds
-                                u = offset.microseconds
-                                if u:
-                                    zreplace = '%c%02d%02d%02d.%06d' % (sign, h, m, s, u)
-                                elif s:
-                                    zreplace = '%c%02d%02d%02d' % (sign, h, m, s)
-                                else:
-                                    zreplace = '%c%02d%02d' % (sign, h, m)
+                            zreplace = _format_offset(object.utcoffset(), sep="")
+                        else:
+                            zreplace = ""
                     assert '%' not in zreplace
                     newformat.append(zreplace)
+                elif ch == ':':
+                    if i < n:
+                        ch2 = format[i]
+                        i += 1
+                        if ch2 == 'z':
+                            if colonzreplace is None:
+                                if hasattr(object, "utcoffset"):
+                                    colonzreplace = _format_offset(object.utcoffset(), sep=":")
+                                else:
+                                    colonzreplace = ""
+                            assert '%' not in colonzreplace
+                            newformat.append(colonzreplace)
+                        else:
+                            push('%')
+                            push(ch)
+                            push(ch2)
                 elif ch == 'Z':
                     if Zreplace is None:
                         Zreplace = ""
diff --git a/Lib/test/datetimetester.py b/Lib/test/datetimetester.py
index 7e7f4f33d6e..bba96698e9e 100644
--- a/Lib/test/datetimetester.py
+++ b/Lib/test/datetimetester.py
@@ -1463,8 +1463,8 @@ def test_strftime(self):
         # test that unicode input is allowed (issue 2782)
         self.assertEqual(t.strftime("%m"), "03")
 
-        # A naive object replaces %z and %Z w/ empty strings.
-        self.assertEqual(t.strftime("'%z' '%Z'"), "'' ''")
+        # A naive object replaces %z, %:z and %Z w/ empty strings.
+        self.assertEqual(t.strftime("'%z' '%:z' '%Z'"), "'' '' ''")
 
         #make sure that invalid format specifiers are handled correctly
         #self.assertRaises(ValueError, t.strftime, "%e")
@@ -1528,7 +1528,7 @@ def strftime(self, format_spec):
 
         for fmt in ["m:%m d:%d y:%y",
                     "m:%m d:%d y:%y H:%H M:%M S:%S",
-                    "%z %Z",
+                    "%z %:z %Z",
                     ]:
             self.assertEqual(dt.__format__(fmt), dt.strftime(fmt))
             self.assertEqual(a.__format__(fmt), dt.strftime(fmt))
@@ -2134,7 +2134,7 @@ def strftime(self, format_spec):
 
         for fmt in ["m:%m d:%d y:%y",
                     "m:%m d:%d y:%y H:%H M:%M S:%S",
-                    "%z %Z",
+                    "%z %:z %Z",
                     ]:
             self.assertEqual(dt.__format__(fmt), dt.strftime(fmt))
             self.assertEqual(a.__format__(fmt), dt.strftime(fmt))
@@ -2777,6 +2777,7 @@ def test_more_strftime(self):
             tz = timezone(-timedelta(hours=2, seconds=s, microseconds=us))
             t = t.replace(tzinfo=tz)
             self.assertEqual(t.strftime("%z"), "-0200" + z)
+            self.assertEqual(t.strftime("%:z"), "-02:00:" + z)
 
         # bpo-34482: Check that surrogates don't cause a crash.
         try:
@@ -3515,8 +3516,8 @@ def test_1653736(self):
     def test_strftime(self):
         t = self.theclass(1, 2, 3, 4)
         self.assertEqual(t.strftime('%H %M %S %f'), "01 02 03 000004")
-        # A naive object replaces %z and %Z with empty strings.
-        self.assertEqual(t.strftime("'%z' '%Z'"), "'' ''")
+        # A naive object replaces %z, %:z and %Z with empty strings.
+        self.assertEqual(t.strftime("'%z' '%:z' '%Z'"), "'' '' ''")
 
         # bpo-34482: Check that surrogates don't cause a crash.
         try:
@@ -3934,10 +3935,10 @@ def test_zones(self):
         self.assertEqual(repr(t4), d + "(0, 0, 0, 40)")
         self.assertEqual(repr(t5), d + "(0, 0, 0, 40, tzinfo=utc)")
 
-        self.assertEqual(t1.strftime("%H:%M:%S %%Z=%Z %%z=%z"),
-                                     "07:47:00 %Z=EST %z=-0500")
-        self.assertEqual(t2.strftime("%H:%M:%S %Z %z"), "12:47:00 UTC +0000")
-        self.assertEqual(t3.strftime("%H:%M:%S %Z %z"), "13:47:00 MET +0100")
+        self.assertEqual(t1.strftime("%H:%M:%S %%Z=%Z %%z=%z %%:z=%:z"),
+                                     "07:47:00 %Z=EST %z=-0500 %:z=-05:00")
+        self.assertEqual(t2.strftime("%H:%M:%S %Z %z %:z"), "12:47:00 UTC +0000 +00:00")
+        self.assertEqual(t3.strftime("%H:%M:%S %Z %z %:z"), "13:47:00 MET +0100 +01:00")
 
         yuck = FixedOffset(-1439, "%z %Z %%z%%Z")
         t1 = time(23, 59, tzinfo=yuck)
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2022-08-14-18-59-54.gh-issue-69142.6is5Pq.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2022-08-14-18-59-54.gh-issue-69142.6is5Pq.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0db8b3730cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2022-08-14-18-59-54.gh-issue-69142.6is5Pq.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add ``%:z`` strftime format code (generates tzoffset with colons as separator), see :ref:`strftime-strptime-behavior`.
diff --git a/Modules/_datetimemodule.c b/Modules/_datetimemodule.c
index eca7c6b29d7..d86418af0dc 100644
--- a/Modules/_datetimemodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_datetimemodule.c
@@ -1506,6 +1506,27 @@ format_utcoffset(char *buf, size_t buflen, const char *sep,
     return 0;
 }
 
+static PyObject *
+make_somezreplacement(PyObject *object, char *sep, PyObject *tzinfoarg)
+{
+    char buf[100];
+    PyObject *tzinfo = get_tzinfo_member(object);
+
+    if (tzinfo == Py_None || tzinfo == NULL) {
+        return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, 0);
+    }
+   
+    assert(tzinfoarg != NULL);
+    if (format_utcoffset(buf,
+                         sizeof(buf),
+                         sep,
+                         tzinfo,
+                         tzinfoarg) < 0)
+        return NULL;
+        
+    return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(buf, strlen(buf));
+}
+
 static PyObject *
 make_Zreplacement(PyObject *object, PyObject *tzinfoarg)
 {
@@ -1566,7 +1587,7 @@ make_freplacement(PyObject *object)
 
 /* I sure don't want to reproduce the strftime code from the time module,
  * so this imports the module and calls it.  All the hair is due to
- * giving special meanings to the %z, %Z and %f format codes via a
+ * giving special meanings to the %z, %:z, %Z and %f format codes via a
  * preprocessing step on the format string.
  * tzinfoarg is the argument to pass to the object's tzinfo method, if
  * needed.
@@ -1578,6 +1599,7 @@ wrap_strftime(PyObject *object, PyObject *format, PyObject *timetuple,
     PyObject *result = NULL;            /* guilty until proved innocent */
 
     PyObject *zreplacement = NULL;      /* py string, replacement for %z */
+    PyObject *colonzreplacement = NULL; /* py string, replacement for %:z */
     PyObject *Zreplacement = NULL;      /* py string, replacement for %Z */
     PyObject *freplacement = NULL;      /* py string, replacement for %f */
 
@@ -1632,32 +1654,29 @@ wrap_strftime(PyObject *object, PyObject *format, PyObject *timetuple,
         }
         /* A % has been seen and ch is the character after it. */
         else if (ch == 'z') {
+            /* %z -> +HHMM */
             if (zreplacement == NULL) {
-                /* format utcoffset */
-                char buf[100];
-                PyObject *tzinfo = get_tzinfo_member(object);
-                zreplacement = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
-                if (zreplacement == NULL) goto Done;
-                if (tzinfo != Py_None && tzinfo != NULL) {
-                    assert(tzinfoarg != NULL);
-                    if (format_utcoffset(buf,
-                                         sizeof(buf),
-                                         "",
-                                         tzinfo,
-                                         tzinfoarg) < 0)
-                        goto Done;
-                    Py_DECREF(zreplacement);
-                    zreplacement =
-                      PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(buf,
-                                               strlen(buf));
-                    if (zreplacement == NULL)
-                        goto Done;
-                }
+                zreplacement = make_somezreplacement(object, "", tzinfoarg);
+                if (zreplacement == NULL)
+                    goto Done;
             }
             assert(zreplacement != NULL);
+            assert(PyBytes_Check(zreplacement));
             ptoappend = PyBytes_AS_STRING(zreplacement);
             ntoappend = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(zreplacement);
         }
+        else if (ch == ':' && *pin == 'z' && pin++) {
+            /* %:z -> +HH:MM */
+            if (colonzreplacement == NULL) {
+                colonzreplacement = make_somezreplacement(object, ":", tzinfoarg);
+                if (colonzreplacement == NULL)
+                    goto Done;
+            }
+            assert(colonzreplacement != NULL);
+            assert(PyBytes_Check(colonzreplacement));
+            ptoappend = PyBytes_AS_STRING(colonzreplacement);
+            ntoappend = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(colonzreplacement);
+        }
         else if (ch == 'Z') {
             /* format tzname */
             if (Zreplacement == NULL) {
@@ -1686,7 +1705,7 @@ wrap_strftime(PyObject *object, PyObject *format, PyObject *timetuple,
             ntoappend = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(freplacement);
         }
         else {
-            /* percent followed by neither z nor Z */
+            /* percent followed by something else */
             ptoappend = pin - 2;
             ntoappend = 2;
         }
@@ -1733,6 +1752,7 @@ wrap_strftime(PyObject *object, PyObject *format, PyObject *timetuple,
  Done:
     Py_XDECREF(freplacement);
     Py_XDECREF(zreplacement);
+    Py_XDECREF(colonzreplacement);
     Py_XDECREF(Zreplacement);
     Py_XDECREF(newfmt);
     return result;