Macedonia Scraps Emblem Red Star

After 73 years in use, the iconic five-pointed red star on Macedonia's official coat of arms became history on Monday. Macedonia is among the last of former socialist countries in Europe to make such a move.

The ruling centre-right VMRO-DPNME and its Albanian coalition partner, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, garnered the required two-thirds majority in parliament needed to push the measure through. The new law removed the star and left the state emblem otherwise unchanged.  

Eighty legislators of the 120 seat parliament voted in favor of scraping the star while eighteen were against.

The Macedonian coat of arms that included the red star has been in use since 1946, shortly after the country became part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFRJ.

Unlike the flag, which had its red star removed almost immediately after the country proclaimed independence from SFRJ in the early 1990s, Macedonia’s coat of arms remained unchanged, maintaining its socialist tone.

Several past efforts to remove the star ended in failure because politicians could not agree on an alternative.

The most recent effort is the ongoing initiative by the small rightist VMRO-NP party, which is collecting signatures that urge the endorsement of a golden lion with a red background as the Macedonian national emblem.

With the recent change, the coat of arms is composed of two curved garlands of wheat sheaves, tobacco leaves and poppy buds, tied by a ribbon decorated with the embroidery of traditional Macedonian folk motives. A lake, a mountain, and a sunrise are depicted in the centre of the ovoid frame.

This move faced opposition in those who argued that, if the country is making amendments, it would be better to change the coat of arms completely to reflect the nation's efforts to become a Western democratic society.

Since its independence, Skopje’s top priorities are to eventually become a member of the European Union and NATO.