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Seal of the State, Mali

image located by Zoltan Horvath, 5 July 2024

Coat of Arms
Previous seal

See also:

Mali

Coat of arms

central elements of the coat of arms of Mali by Santiago Tazon

The Seal of the State of the Third Republic of Mali, according to the Mali Embassy.
Santiago Tazon, 1 May 2002

The image above is only a black and white representation of the figured elements of the coat of arms. More accurately, it is the central part of the seal of the State. The image of the coat of arms in Talocci [tal93] seems to be accurate, while the Dorling-Kindersley Pocket Book [udk97] shows the seal of Mali, with very loose legends. The bird is presented as the dove of peace (it looks so, but the official depiction says something else) and the mosque is called a local fortress (the mosque of Djenné is indeed a huge fortified mosque and was an important center of the Islamic culture in the XVI-XVIIIth century).
Ivan Sache, 31 August 2005

From the website of the Presidency of the Republic of Mali (http://www.koulouba.pr.ml/article.php3?id_article=14; translation to English by Ivan Sache, 31 August 2005, from the French text attributed to the Grand Chancellery of Mali):

National seal, coat of arms and motto

Order #57/CMLN of 20 October 1973 prescribes the seal of the state of Mali. Order #56/CMLN of 20 October 1973 prescribed the coat of arms of the Republic of Mali. The motto of the Republic of Mali is "Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi" (One People, One Goal, One Faith), as prescribed by article 25 of the Constitution.

The seal of the State of Mali has a circular shape. It bears:
- in the middle, a standing lion, surrounded by a spike of millet, a panicle of rice and an oxen's head
- in the surround, the writings "République du Mali" above and "Un Peuple, Un But, Une Fois" below.
The seals and stamps of the senior branches of the Civil Service, of the Ministers, of the Courts, of the Clarks, Notaries and Ushers, of all the Administration and public Authorities are of the same design as the seal of the State. However, the name of the Administration or the public Authority they represent shall replace the national motto. The Minister of Justice shall be the sole keeper of the original seals.

The coat of arms of the Republic of Mali has a circular shape. It shows on a light blue background:
- in the middle, the mosque of Djenné, in clay grey colour
- above the mosque, the Legendary Vulture in gliding flight, in dark grey colour
- below, the rising sun, in golden yellow colour
- in front of the sun, two opposed bows bent by their arrow, in black colour
- in the surround, the writings "République du Mali" above and "Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi" below, in black Capital letters.

The acts, letters and envelopes of the Head of State, of the President of the Government, of the President of National Assembly, of the Ministers, of the President of the Supreme Court and of the diplomatic and consular Representatives abroad shall bear the coat of arms of the Republic.
The reproduction of the coat of arms by any means and on any support shall be beforehand permitted by the Minister of Justice.

Santiago Tazon, 1 May 2002

The emblem of Mali consists of a light blue disc charged with a bird at the top, a mosque in the center flanked by two bows and arrows, and the rising sun at the bottom. The current version has been the seal of the Republic of Mali since 1973. It is utilized on official documents as a coat of arms.

The objects on the seal carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The mosque depicted at the centre of the seal is the Great Mosque of Djenné. It represents Islam, the country's majority religion—practised by 94.8% of the population. Featured above the structure is a bird – the species it belongs to is disputed. Although the 1973 ordinance gives the description that it is a "legendary vulture" originating from Malian folklore, other sources claim it is actually a dove that symbolizes peace.
Zoltan Horvath, 5 July 2024

Previous seal

image located by Zoltan Horvath, 5 July 2024

The previous seal had the same elements, only the colors were different, a green bordered red disc was charged with these elements in yellow and gold colors, except the dove, it was white. That version was used from 1961 to 1973.
Zoltan Horvath, 5 July 2024