The Coat of arms of Aruba has been officially in use since November 15, 1955, as the recognized national symbol of Aruba.

History

The Eilandenregeling Nederlandse Antillen (ERNA, English: Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles) established the autonomy of the various island territories in the Netherlands Antilles. The regulation was announced on March 3, 1951, by Royal Decree, four years before the Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles came into effect, and remained in force in modified form until the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved on October 10, 2010. On March 27, 1953, the Executive College of Aruba (Dutch: bestuurscollege) announced in the newspaper a competition to design a coat of arms for the island territory of Aruba. The College wanted to see an expression of the island's autonomy, following the political decentralization of the Dutch Antilles in accordance with the ERNA in 1954. Aruba was the first of the Netherlands Antilles to use a coat of arms. The coat of arms was originally designed by the Atelier voor Heraldische Kunst (Studio for Heraldic Arts), located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. On this design, however, the Government of Aruba made two changes with the approval of the Studio for Heraldic Arts to make it even more reflective of Aruba's distinctive symbols. These changes are in the first and second quarters of the coat of arms, namely a sun and the peak of Jamanota, were changed to the Aloe vera and Hooiberg, respectively.

Description

Blazon

The official description of the coat of arms: Shield: quartered by a cross Argent, the first Azure an aloe plant Or, the second Or the Hooiberg hill Vert issuant from barry wavy sea of Azure and Argent, the third Or two dexter hands Gules shaking each other fesswise, the fourth Gules an Argent cogwheel Crest: a lion couchant Gules Supporters: a pair of laurel branches Vert, tied at the bottom

Symbolism

The coat of arms consists of seven main elements: