Last modified: 2022-10-22 by bruce berry
Keywords: gabon |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
The flag of Gabon is a horizontal tricolor of green, yellow and blue. The proportions are 3:4.
According to Devereux (1994), the colours mean respectively the forest, the Equator line (which crosses the country) and the sea.1
The shield is supported by two black panthers and an okoumé tree
symbolizing the timber trade. The ship represents Gabon moving towards a
brighter future. The coat of arms is unusual in having two ribbons with mottos
in two different languages. The ribbon below the shield has the motto in
French 'UNION, TRAVAIL, JUSTICE' ('Union, Work, Justice'). The second ribbon
is placed beneath the branches of the okoumé tree and has the motto in Latin
'UNITI PROGREDIEMUR' ('Let us go forward united').
The coat of arms was designed by the Swiss heraldist and vexillologist Louis Mühlemann, one of the founding members of the FIAV and also designer of the former coat of arms of Congo. The panthers symbolize the vigilance and courage of the president who protects the nation. The bezants (golden discs) in chief of the shield symbolize the mineral wealth of the country.2
The Republic and Sovereignty
Article 2
(...)
The national emblem is the tricolor flag, green, yellow, blue in three horizontal bands of equal dimension.
(...)
The motto of the Republic is "Union - Work - Justice".
The seal of the Republic is a "Nursing Maternity".3
Flag of Gabon: Željko Heimer
Coat of Arms: unknown, located by Dov Gutterman
Flags of the World
March, 2005