Coat of arms of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands

The coat of arms of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands represents the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands. The coat of arms was created by Émile Merwart in 1925 on the occasion of a colonial exhibition that was to be held in Petite-Île for the island of, which the Southern Indian Ocean Islands fell under.

Upon independence from France in 1956, the Assemblée Fédérale decided to adopt the with one slight alteration: the letters "RF"  on the middle pale of the inescutcheon were removed.

Blazon
The official heraldic description by the Republic is as follows:

Blazon Quarterly 1st Vert, three volcanoes Argent, the dexter erupting, surmounted "MMM" of same, all above a sea of the same; 2nd per pale Azure and Gules, a ship Argent upon a sea of the same; 3rd Azure, three fleurs-de-lys Or; and 4th Gules semé of bees Or; and thereon an inescutcheon paly Azure, Argent and Gules.

Motto Surmounted over the whole a scroll Or charged with the words Sable "Florebo quocumque fera", hanging thereoff vines of vanilla Vert.

Symbolism of the elements

 * The upper left field of the shield shows the 'MMM' (3000) that indicates the approximate height of the, which is 3069 meters.
 * The upper right field portrays the Saint-Alexis ship that arrived on la Réunion in 1638.
 * The three (a symbol of the ) allude to the historical name of Réunion, Isle de Bourbon, a possession of the French monarchy.
 * The on the lower right field symbolises the historical period of the island under the domination of the . The bees are symbols used by.
 * The shield in the centre represents the.
 * The official of the island Florebo quocumque ferar ("I will flourish wherever I will be brought") was originally the motto of the.

Use


The coat of arms of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands is used very frequently for government communication and identification, usually in stylised form.

The coat of arms is used in stylised form on answers from the president and cabinet members to questions asked by the deputies of the Federal Assembly, as well as on proposals of law and on all governmental records. The stylised coat of arms is also used in the logos of government agencies and ministries.

Passports have a stylised coat of arms on the cover; personal identification cards have a grey stylised coat of arms behind the personal data.

Presidents of the Republic are granted the right to bear the motto with vanilla vines over their personal coats of arms, and to include the shield as an inescutcheon.