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Coat of Arms (Bulgaria)

From the official website of the Bulgarian Parliament.

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Bulgarian coat of arms

Bulgarian Coat of Arms (1997)

Bulgaria has been without an officially adopted national emblem since the communist regime was overthrown. However, a coat of arms was finally adopted on 31 July 1997. Reuters described the shield this way: "The design has a lion on a red shield, flanked by two more lions, with a crown above it and a motto underneath reading 'unity is strength.' " Further, Reuters said that the arms: "includes the crown of 14th century monarch Ivan Shishman of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, rather than the Saxe-Coburg crown of exiled king Simeon's dynasty, which formed part of the pre-communist coat of arms." The design has been hotly debated for seven years, and only the president that took office earlier this year managed to work out a compromise. Some parties, notably the monarchist Union of National Salvation wanted to reintroduce the Royal arms that were used to 1947. Socialists favoured an uncrowned lion. When the arms were submitted to Parliament for a vote on Thursday 31 July 1997, 177 MPs voted in favour, while 16 MPs voted against (there were 29 abstentions). Reuters reports that "Immediately after the vote, President Petar Stoyanov went from parliament to hang the coat of arms over the main entrance to the presidency. A military band played the national anthem and passers-by applauded."