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Coat of arms of South Sudan

National emblem of the Republic of South Sudan

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ208148 ↗
Source-derived summary

The coat of arms of the Republic of South Sudan was adopted in July 2011 following independence from the Republic of Sudan. Prior to independence, South Sudan was an autonomous region of Sudan.

The design of the coat of arms was approved by the cabinet of the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan in April 2011, having previously been endorsed by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in May 2011.

Design

The arms consist of an escutcheon with the tincture or (gold). The supporter is an African fish eagle holding a crossed spear and spade, symbolizing the people's resolve to protect the sovereignty of their republic and work hard to feed it, described in some press accounts as a shield and two spears. The eagle is depicted as looking towards its right shoulder with wings outstretched, and it holds in its claws a scroll bearing the name of the state. The eagle signifies strength, resilience, vision, and majesty.

History

Pre Independence

Prior to independence, South Sudan was part of The Ottoman Empire, The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, The Belgian Lado Enclave and then an autonomous region of Sudan.

Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (2005–2011)

The Southern Sudan Autonomous Region, that existed between 2005 and 2011, used an emblem consisting of the coat of arms of Sudan surrounded by the legends "GOVERNMENT OF SOUTHERN SUDAN" and "GOSS". The arms of Sudan depict a secretarybird bearing a traditional shield.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Coat of arms of South Sudan” is national emblem of the Republic of South Sudan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Coat, arms and South, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2011, 2005—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2011-07. For this dossier, Coat, arms and South is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “national emblem of the Republic of South Sudan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q208148. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011 and 2005.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Coat of arms of South Sudan”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Coat of arms of South Sudan primary sources, Coat of arms of South Sudan archive and Coat research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Coat of arms of South Sudan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.