The coat of arms of Namibia is the official heraldic symbol of

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. Introduced at the time of independence in 1990, it superseded the earlier coat of arms used by the South African administration of the territory.

History

The Constituent Assembly which drew up the Namibian Constitution in 1989 appointed a National Symbols Sub-Committee to produce a flag and coat of arms for the country. The committee enlisted the assistance of the South African Bureau of Heraldry. After approving the

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

, the committee decided to use the same design as the coat of arms, with the addition of an

African fish eagle The African fish eagle (''Icthyophaga vocifer'') or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, ...

(''Haliaeetus vocifer'') for a crest, and two gemsbok ('' Oryx'') as supporters.Merrington, A.J. (1990). 'New National Symbols for the Republic of Namibia' in ''Arma'' Vol 32/1990 – II. The ''

Welwitschia mirabilis ''Welwitschia'' is a monotypic genus of gnetophytes containing only the species ''Welwitschia mirabilis''. It is named after the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, who documented the plant in the 1850s. In common use, it is sometimes ref ...

'' on the compartment was taken over from the former arms of South-West Africa (see below).

Blazon

The arms are blazoned as follows:

* Shield: Tierced per bend sinister Azure, and Vert, a bend sinister Gules fimbriated Argent and in dexter chief a Sun with twelve straight rays Or charged with an annulet Azure (the design of the Flag of Namibia). * Crest: Upon a traditional head-ring Vert charged with six lozenges conjoined Or, a fish eagle rising wings elevated and displayed proper. * Supporters: Two oryx proper. * Compartment: A Namib sand dune with a ''Welwitschia mirabilis'' on the foreground. * Motto: Unity Liberty Justice.

Earlier coats of arms

Proposed arms 1914

In 1914, the German Empire government decided to assign coats of arms to German colonies, including South-West Africa. Arms were designed, but

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out before the project was finalised, and the arms were never taken into use. The arms proposed for

German South-West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

depicted an Afrikaner bull's head, a diamond, and the German imperial eagle.Pama, C. (1965). ''Lions and Virgins'' In the 1920s,

neo-colonialism Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to ...

, the proposed arms made a short public appearance, in a slightly modified form on

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

s issued by the German Colonial Soldiers' League (German '' Deutscher Kolonialkrieger-Bund'') and also as decoration on calendars.The Emperor's new coat of arms
(Spiegel Online, 26 February 2009, in German). File:Proposed Coat of Arms Southwest Africa 1914.svg, 1914 proposed coat of arms of

Arms 1963–80

In 1958, the South West African administration decided that the territory should have an official coat of arms. After obtaining the approval of the South African government, the administration engaged Dr

Coenraad Beyers Dr Coenraad Beyers (1893–1975) was a South African historian, archivist, and herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to ...

to design the arms. The design was finalised in 1961, taken into use in 1963, and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in 1964. The arms were discontinued when South-West Africa was reconstituted into a three-tier system of government in 1980. The second-tier Representative Authority of the Whites (1980–89) took over the arms in 1981.Brownell, F.G. (1990). 'The Evolution of the Coats of Arms and Flags of SWA and Namibia' in ''Archives News'' (August 1990). The official blazon of the arms is :

* Per chevron ployé Argent and Gules, dexter a karakul ram's face caboshed Sable and sinister the head and neck of an Afrikander bull proper, in base two miner's hammers in saltire Or and there-under three triangular diamonds Argent 2 and 1; on a chief Gules a pale Argent charged with an eagle Sable langued and membered Gules, dexter a representation of Fort Namutoni and sinister a Portuguese padrao both Argent. * Crest : A gemsbok statant gardant proper. * Supporters: Dexter a springbok and sinister a kudu, both proper, resting on a desert-like knoll, with a growing ''Welwitschia mirabilis'' in the foreground proper. * Motto : Viribus unitis (''With United Forces'').Bureau of Heraldry
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File:Coat of arms of South West Africa.svg, Coat of arms of

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

(1963–80)

References

External links

The National Symbols of Namibia

South African Bureau of Heraldry
{{Coat of arms of Africa

National symbols of Namibia South African heraldry