Coat of arms of Samoa

Coat of arms of Samoa

Details
Armiger	Independent State of Samoa
Adopted	1962
Crest	Christian cross
Torse	None
Escutcheon	Azure, the Southern Cross of five large and one smaller stars Argent, ...
Motto	Fa'avae i le Atua Sāmoa "Samoa is founded on God"

The coat of arms of Samoa takes its inspiration from the United Nations, as New Zealand administered Western Samoa first as a League of Nations Mandate and then as a United Nations trusteeship until the country received its independence on June 1, 1962, as Western Samoa. Samoa was the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The background is cross-hatched with a grid like the United Nations arms, most of the other elements are duplicated on the national flag.

Definition

The official crest or badge of Samoa is the Public Seal of Samoa excluding the surrounding concentric circles, and the words "The Public Seal of the Independent State of Samoa". The public seal is defined by legislation as follows:^[1]

A silver shield with the lower two-thirds blue, having thereon 5 silver stars representing the constellation of the Southern Cross, of the same shape and the same relative sizes and dispositions among themselves as in the Flag of Samoa; one half of the upper third depicting a green sea with a green coconut palm issuing therefrom; the shield being surmounted by a gold cross, and superimposed on 2 concentric circles of the world and the olive leaves as in the United Nations Badge, and bearing the subscription of the motto "Faavae i Le Atua Samoa", meaning in the English language "God be the Foundation of Samoa", the whole being contained within surrounding concentric circles between which are inscribed the words "The Public Seal of the Independent State of Samoa.

Historical coat of arms

Coat of arms of German Samoa from 1900 to 1914.
Coat of arms of Western Samoa from 1951 to 1962.

External links

Seals and coats of arms of Oceania

Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue

Dependencies and other territories	American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna

Notes

↑ "Public seal of Samoa act 1973". Consolidated Acts of Samoa 2010. Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 3 June 2012.

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