| National emblem of North Macedonia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Versions | |
.svg) As used by the Government of North Macedonia | |
| Armiger | Republic of North Macedonia |
| Adopted | July 27, 1946; 79 years ago (1946-07-27) (original version) November 16, 2009; 16 years ago (2009-11-16) (current version) |
Thenational emblem of North Macedonia depicts two curvedgarlands of sheaves ofwheat,tobacco leaves andopium poppy fruits, tied by aribbon decorated withembroidery of traditional Macedonian folk motifs. In the center of the ovoid frame are depicted amountain, alake and asunrise. The features of the national coat of arms contain a rising sun which symbolizes freedom, theŠar Mountains[1] with its peak namedLjuboten[1] orMount Korab[2] and the riverVardar,[1][2] withLake Ohrid. The emblem also contains opium poppy fruits; this poppy was brought to the area during Ottoman times in the first half of the 19th century.[3] Until 16 November 2009, the emblem also depicted asocialistic five-pointed star in the top. This emblem (including the red star) had been in use since 1946, shortly after the republic became part ofYugoslavia.
The emblem is based upon theemblem of Yugoslavia. Until 2009, along withBelarus and the disputed territory ofTransnistria, North Macedonia was one of the few remaining European jurisdictions that continued to employsocialist heraldry in its national emblem.
The current emblem is a revised version of the one adopted on July 27, 1946, by the Assembly of thePeople's Republic of Macedonia. The original version of 1946 represented thePirin Mountains, which are outside the country's territory, but part of the larger geographicalregion of Macedonia in order to symbolize a future "United Macedonia" as part of a newBalkan Federation. The original emblem was created by Vasilije Popović-Cico and the revised one probably byĐorđe Andrejević Kun.[4] The supervised version was constitutionally approved by theConstitution of the People's Republic of Macedonia from December 31, 1946.[5]
Two days after its adoption, the symbolism of the emblem was described in theNova Makedonija newspaper, as follows:
Thecoat of arms of the People's Republic of Macedonia is a symbol of the freedom and the brotherhood of the Macedonian people and the richness of the Macedonian land. The five-pointed star symbolizes theNational Liberation War through which the Macedonian people gained freedom. In the center, there isthe Pirin mountain, the highest Macedonian mountain that has been the center of the National Liberation Wars in the past. The river displayed in the emblem isthe river Vardar, the most famous Macedonian river in the republic. Pirin and Vardar at the same time symbolize the unity of all parts of Macedonia and the ideal of our people for national unity.[6]
After Yugoslavia broke with theSoviet Union in 1948, the Soviet Union did not compelBulgaria andAlbania to form a Balkan Federation with Yugoslavia and the concept of a United Macedonia as part of such a federation was no longer realistic.[6]
The emblem did not appear on the country's firstpassports. In 2007, however, the national emblem was put on the front and the inside of the new biometric Macedonian passports. According to the provisions of the Article 5, Section 2 of North Macedonia's constitution, thetwo-thirds majority is required to pass a law on the new symbols of the Republic. The usage of the coat of arms has been defined by law.[7] In November 2009, the Macedonian parliament passed the Law on the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Macedonia.[8] The law was passed with 80 votes in favor and 18 against. Thefive-pointed socialist star was scrapped from the top of the emblem.
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Between the 16th and the 19th centuries foreignarmorials commonly represented theregion of Macedonia by means of a golden lion on a red field, or of a red lion on a golden field.[9][10][11]
A proposal by architect and graphic designerMiroslav Grčev was put forward in 1992 to replace the emblem with a revised version of the historical gold lion on a red shield. The Macedonian Heraldry Society considers that coat of arms to have been the best solution for a new state emblem.[12] However, this was rejected on three main grounds:
As a result, the political parties agreed to continue to use the current emblem.
On December 5, 2014, the Macedonian government proposed a heraldic design to replace the national emblem. According to theMacedonian Heraldry Society, the proposed coat of arms was based on an illustration from Jerome de Bara book "Coat of Arms" (1581).[13] The illustration from de Bara's book "Le blason des armoiries" depicts a coat of armsattributed toAlexander the Great.[14] It is blazoned as "Or, a lion gules" (on a golden background, a red lion) and topped with a goldenmural crown to represent the republican form of government.[15]
![Coat of arms proposed in 2014 by the Macedonian government[13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a%25D0%259F%25D1%2580%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B4%25D0%25BB%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B3-%25D0%25B3%25D1%2580%25D0%25B1_%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0_%25D0%25A0%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BF%25D1%2583%25D0%25B1%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B0_%25D0%259C%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B4%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D1%2598%25D0%25B0_2014.svg)
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