Coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo

Coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo
Armiger	Republic of the Congo
Adopted	1960 (readopted in 1991)
Crest	A special forest crown. On the circle or of the forest crown: "République du Congo" in letters gules upon a scroll or.
Shield	Or, a fess wavy Vert, a lion rampant Gules, armed and langued Vert, overall, maintaining a torch Sable flamed Gules.
Supporters	Two war elephants sable tusked or, issuing from the flanks of the shield
Compartment	A tree trunk gules
Motto	Unité, Travail, Progrès "Unity, Work, Progress"

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" ("Unity, Work, Progress" translated from "La Congolaise") 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.

Official description

The coat of arms is described as follows:

• Or, a fess wavy vert, a lion gules, armed and langued vert, overall, maintaining a torch sable flamed gules.
• A special forest crown.
• The shield is supported by two war elephants sable tusked or, issuing from the flanks of the shield and sustained on a tree trunk gules.
• On the circle or of the forest crown: "République du Congo" in letters gules upon a scroll or.
• Motto "Unité-Travail-Progrès" in letters gules upon a scroll or.

Historical symbols

• 
  Emblem of the People's Republic of the Congo (1970–1991)