Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Coat of Arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina
File:Bosnia and Herzegovina Coats of Arms modified.svg
Armiger	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Adopted	1998
Shield	Per bend enhanced Or and azure, a bend of mullets argent.

The Coat of Arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 1998, replacing the previous design that had been in use since 1991 when Bosnia and Herzegovina gained independence, and follows the design of the national flag. The three pointed shield is specific and is to symbolize the three major ethnic groups of Bosnia, as well as allude to the shape of the country. The stars were adopted to replace the fleur de lys that were found on more ancient coat of arms to avoid singling out the Bosniak ethnicity as most prominent, and possibly to allude to the European Union, of which the state is recognized as a potential candidate for entry.

Historic Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bosnia, which existed from 1377 until 1463 and covered the area that is present day Bosnia-Herzegovina, were those of it's kings from the House of Kotromanić. It consisted of a blue shield with six gold fleur de lys and a white bend, or diagonal bar; the fleur de lys perhaps symbolic of Lilium bosniacum, which is a native lily to the area. The crest is a plume of peacock feathers that sit within a coronet of fleur de lys. This would be the basis for the arms adopted by Bosnia and Herzegovina later in 1992.

After both Herzegovina and Bosnia were annexed by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, both territories received arms from the Empire. The arms of Stjepan Vukčić Hrvatinić, a Bosnian noble from the fourteenth century, served as inspiration. His personal heraldic achievement consisted of a white shield with a red armoured arm brandishing a sword next to a red lion rampant, with two red bars running across the top fo the shield, and a crest also with a red armoured arm wielding a sword. Herzegovina would be given a red shield with a bare arm holding a broken lance for it's coat of arms in this same fashion. The coat of arms of Bosnia would be gold with a red armoured arm issuing out of clouds, holding a sword. Though both dominions fell under the crown of Hungary, Bosnia, and not Herzegovina, would be included in the greater arms of the Hungarian King.

Adopted in the nineteenth century by the nationalist movement against Ottoman rule and Austro-Hungarian occupation, the Fojnički grbocnik arms were of a gold shield with two black ragged staffs crossed in saltire, an 'X' pattern, with two Moor's heads atop the upper portion of each staff, and over that lay a red inescutheon, which is a smaller shield, that is charged with a crescent and eight-pointed star.

File:Grb kotromanica.gif	File:Herzegovina coat of arms under Austria Hungary.png
The coat of arms of Tvrtko I of Bosnia, who became the first King of Bosnia.	The territorial coat of arms of Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian rule.	The territorial coat of arms of Bosnia during Austro-Hungarian rule.	The coat of arms during the Fojnički grbocnik period.

Recent Emblems

The emblem, along with the flag, of the socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted on December 31, 1946. The description of the emblem was similar to the other Yugoslav republics. The device had two crossing stems of wheat in front of scheme of a neighborhood with two factory chimneys out of which there is smoke. Around the decorative branches and wheat, there is a red track that spirals around. At the top of the emblem is a red star with a golden frame. The red star symbolizes the socialism and communism of Yugoslavia at the time.

The device represents the industry Bosnia and Herzegovina had at the time. The factory chimneys show the industry of several important Bosnian, then Yugoslav, towns and their vital influence towards the economy. It must be noted that all of the Yugoslav republics had similar emblems, however, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the only that did not portray nationalistic symbols, representing its multiethnic composition.

Emblem of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Socialist period.

The national emblem of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was exactly the same as was the previous device of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and defined in its Constitution. This was the first emblem ever in the history of both the regions of Herzegovina and Bosnia that was specific to the entire modern country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The coat of arms of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was similar to that of the Kotromanić dynasty. It had a blue background divided by a white line. The diagonal white line is actually supposed to symbolize the sword of Tvrtko and his might as a ruler. The coat of arms was designed in a hurry, right at the beginning of the Bosnian War, which lasted for 3 years. At the end of the war, there came uproar from the Bosnian Serbs arguing that the coat of arms solely represented Bosniaks. The international community within Bosnia and Herzegovina was the instrument to solve the controversy. In early 1998 a commission for the flag change was created and the same year the current coat of arms was adopted in order to help alleviate the tensions among ethnicities. The current one, however, lacks any history relating to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The current coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina presents the typical straight top, oval sides, and spiked bottom. The coat of arms has two separate background color, dark blue and gold. Both colors are seen in the coat of arms between 1991 and 1998. Even though the current coat of arms does not directly relate with Bosnian-Herzegovinian history, the colors that were used were the ones from the former coat of arms. The top right corner forms a yellow triangle symbolizing the shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina, portraying the sky, rivers and lakes. Through this the coat of arms portrays the Bosnian and Herzegovinian historical continuity and its historical statehood.

See also

• Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Coat of Arms of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

External links

• "Bosnia and Herzegovina-Coat of Arms". Flags of the World.