The arms of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

has changed several times since 1997. The current one was introduced in 2006 and depicts a

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

head, surrounded by an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

tusk to the left and a

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

to the right. Below are the three words which make up the national motto: ''Justice, Paix, Travail'' (''Justice, Peace, Work'' in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

). It was adopted on 18 February 2006 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Joseph Kabila. The arms are described in detail in Section 1, Article 1 of the 2005 constitution. The old emblem, which was introduced in 2003, depicted three interlocked hands surrounded by two laurel branches. At the top is a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

head and at the bottom the motto ''Démocratie, Justice, Unité'' (''Democracy, Justice, Unity'' in French). The coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1999 consists of a light blue

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

. In the middle is a yellow star, above which there are six smaller stars. This coat of arms was introduced along with the flag. An even older arms from 1971 to 1997, when the nation was known as

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, depicted a leopard head, below it a pair of crossed spears, around it a branch and an elephant tusk. The words ''Paix, Justice, Travail'' are written on a white band under the spears. This device was officially introduced on 1 August 1964.

Gallery

File:Coat of arms of Kongo.svg, Coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...

(1528–1541) File:Coat of arms of the Congo Free State.svg, Coat of arms of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

(1885–1908) File:Greater Coat of Arms of the Belgian Congo.svg, Coat of arms of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

(1908–1960)www.hubert-herald.nl
/ref> File:Coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) (1960–1963).svg, Coat of arms of the

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

(1960–1963) File:Coat of arms of Congo-Kinshasa (1963-1971).svg, Coat of arms of the

(1963–1971) File:Coat of arms of Zaire (1971–1997).svg, Coat of arms of

(1971–1997) File:Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997-1999).svg, Coat of arms of the Congo (1997–1999) File:Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999-2003).svg, Coat of arms of the Congo (1999–2003) File:Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003-2006).svg, Coat of arms of the Congo (2003–2006)

Unilaterally declared states

File:Coat of arms of Katanga.svg, Coat of arms of the

State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...

(1960–1963) File:Emblem of South Kasai.svg, Coat of arms of the South Kasai (1960–1962)

Subnational emblems

Some of the

Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Article 2 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo divides the country into the capital city of Kinshasa and 25 named provinces. It also gives the capital the status of a province. Therefore, in many contexts Kinshasa is r ...

have adopted their own distinctive emblems, others use the national emblem of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. File: Coat of arms of Kinshasa.svg,

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

File:Emblem of Kongo Central Province.png, Kongo Central File:Emblem of Kwilu Province.png, Kwilu Province File:Emblem of Mai-Ndombe Province.png,

Mai-Ndombe Province Mai-Ndombe is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Mai-Ndombe, Kwango, and Kwilu provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Mai-Ndombe was ...

File:Emblem of Kasai Province.png,

Kasaï Province Kasaï is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï and Kasaï-Central provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Occidental province. Kasaï was for ...

File:Emblem of Kasai Central Province.png,

Kasaï-Central Kasaï-Central is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Central and Kasaï provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Occidental province. Kasa� ...

File:Emblem of Kasai Oriental Province.png,

Kasaï-Oriental Kasaï-Oriental (French for "East Kasai") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami, and Sankuru provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the form ...

File:Flag of Sankuru Province.svg,

Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental, and Lomami provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. San ...

File:Emblem of Maniema Province.png, Maniema File:Emblem of South Kivu Province.png,

South Kivu South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. History South Kivu Province was created from Sud-Kivu District in 1989, when the exis ...

File:Emblem of North Kivu Province.png, North Kivu File:Emblem of Ituri Province.png, Ituri Province File:Emblem of Haut Uele Province.png, Haut-Uélé File:Emblem of Tshopo Province.png, Tshopo File:Emblem of Bas Uele Province.png, Bas-Uélé File:Emblem of Tshuapa Province.png, Tshuapa File:Emblem of Tanganyika Province.png, Tanganyika Province File:Emblem of Lualaba Province.png,

Lualaba Province Lualaba is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, and Tanganyika provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Katanga province. ...

File:Emblem of Haut Katanga Province.png,

Haut-Katanga Province Haut-Katanga (French for "Upper Katanga") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Tanganyika provinces are the result of the dismemberm ...

References

{{Coat of arms of Africa National symbols of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Congo, Democratic Republic of the The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Congo, Democratic Republic Congo, Democratic Republic Congo, Democratic Republic

Gallery

Unilaterally declared states

Subnational emblems

See also

References