The coat of arms of South Africa is the main heraldic insignia of South Africa. The present coat of arms was introduced on Freedom Day, 27 April 2000, and was designed by Iaan Bekker. It replaced the earlier national arms, which had been in use since 1910. The motto is written in the extinct |Xam, member of the Khoisan languages, and translates literally to "diverse people unite". The previous motto, in Latin, was Ex Unitate Vires, translated as "From unity, strength".
The original national flag of Burundi was adopted after the country's independence from Belgium on 1 July 1962. It went through several revisions and now consists of a white saltire which divides the field into alternating red and green areas. The center of the saltire merges into a white disk, on which there are three red solid six-pointed stars outlined in green. The current ratio is 3:5, which was changed from 2:3 on 27 September 1982.
The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus, as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.
The coat of arms of Burkina Faso contains a shield based on the national flag. Above the shield the name of the country is shown, while below it is the national motto, Unité, Progrès, Justice. The supporters are two white stallions. The two plants emerging from the lower banner appear to represent pearl millet, an important cereal grain cultivated in this country where agriculture represents 32% of the gross domestic product. This coat of arms is similar to the old Upper Volta coat of arms, with the Burkina Faso flag replacing the Upper Volta flag in the middle. The coat of arms and its meaning is mandated by Law No 020/97/II/AN.
The coat of arms of Chad was adopted in 1970. The center has a shield with jagged blue and yellow lines, with a sun rising over it. The shield is supported by a goat and a lion. Below the shield is a medal and a scroll with the national motto in French, Unité, Travail, Progrès. The shield supporters as well as the scroll feature a red arrow pointing upwards.
The national emblem of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has changed several times since 1997. The current one was introduced in 2006 and depicts a leopard head, surrounded by an elephant tusk to the left and a spear to the right. Below are the three words which make up the national motto: Justice, Paix, Travail. It was adopted on 18 February 2006 by President Joseph Kabila.
The coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo has a shield with a rampant red lion holding a torch. The background color of the shield is gold with a green, wavy, horizontal stripe along the middle. A golden crown sits above the shield. Two large African war elephants support the shield. A banner with the national motto "Unité Travail Progrès" is draped from a bar supporting the war elephants. The arms were adopted in 1960 and readopted in 1991 after having been replaced with a simpler, unheraldic symbol during the People's Republic of the Congo era from 1970–1991.
The karyenda is a traditional African drum. It was the main symbol of Burundi and its Mwami (King) and had semi-divine status. The Mwami was said to interpret the beatings of the karyenda into rules for the kingdom.
The Kingdom of Burundi formerly known as Kingdom of Urundi was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis. Created in the 17th century, the kingdom was preserved under German and Belgian colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th century and was an independent state between 1962 and 1966.
The coat of arms of Uganda was adopted three weeks before the proclamation of independence by the Uganda Legislative Council. On 1 October 1962 the arms were approved by Governor of Uganda Walter Coutts, and formally established by law on 9 October.
The coat of arms of Gabon was designed by the Swiss heraldist and vexillologist Louis Mühlemann, one of the founding members of the FIAV and the designer of the coat of arms of the Republic of Congo. It has been in use since 15 July 1963.
The coat of arms of Greece or national seal of Greece comprises a white Greek cross on a blue escutcheon, surrounded by two laurel branches. It has been in use in its current form since 1975. Prior to the adoption of the current coat of arms, Greece used a number of different designs, some of which were not heraldic; the first heraldic design was introduced in 1832 and its main element, the blue shield with the white cross, has been the base for all other national coats of arms since then. The design is a heraldic representation of the Greek national flag adopted in 1822, which featured a white cross on a blue field.
The coat of arms of the Dominican Republic features a shield in similarly quartered colors as the flag, supported by a bay laurel branch (left) and a palm frond (right); above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national motto: Dios, Patria, Libertad. Below the shield, the words República Dominicana appear on a red ribbon. In the center of the shield, flanked by six spears, the front four holding the national flag, is a Bible which is open to John: 8:31–32 with a small golden cross above it. The coat of arms appears in the center of the flag of the Dominican Republic.
The coat of arms of Togo was adopted on 14 March 1962. Since this Togolese national symbol does not follows the rules of heraldry for a traditional coat of arms, then it could be considered a national emblem instead.
The coat of arms of Tunisia displays a Carthaginian galley along with a lion holding a sword, and a weighing scale. In the centre, just under the ship, is the national motto written in Arabic: Freedom (حرية) - Order (نظام) - Justice (عدالة). The central emblem of the national flag is seen above the shield. The background is gold in all sections.
The Royal Order of the Lion was established by King Leopold II of Belgium on 9 April 1891, in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State, and was awarded for services to the Congo and its ruler that did not deserve the award of the Order of the African Star, and were not necessarily performed from within Belgian Congo.
André Muhirwa was a Burundian politician who served as prime minister of Burundi from 1961 to 1963. He became prime minister following the assassination of his predecessor, Louis Rwagasore. A member of the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), he previously served as Minister of the Interior from September to October 1961.
The Definitive Constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi, sometimes called the "independence constitution", was the constitution of the independent Kingdom of Burundi from its promulgation in 1962 until its suspension in 1966.
Pierre-Claver Nuwinkware was a Burundian politician.
