Coat of arms of Somalia


The coat of arms of Somalia was adopted on October 10, 1956 and was created by the Italian Giuseppe Ricci. The leopards which support the shield and the white star were also found on the coat of arms used in Italian Somaliland. Formerly, the arms of Somalia from June 8, 1919 featured a shield divided horizontally by a wavy white line. The top half of the shield was blue, with a leopard in natural color surmounted by a white five-pointed star. Leopards are a common motif in Somali culture.

Official description

The Constitution of Somalia describes the coat of arms of the nation as follows:
The emblem of the Federal Republic of Somalia is a blue shield with a gold frame, in the centre of which is a silver-coated, five-pointed star. The shield is surmounted by a decorated emblem with five golden heads, with two lateral ones halved. The shield is borne from the sides by two cheetahs facing each other under the lower point of the shield, along with two palm leaves, which are interlaced with a white ribbon.

Historical coats of arms