Jiří Louda

Jiří Louda (October 3, 1920 – September 1, 2015) was a Czech heraldist and veteran of World War II. Louda was considered among the leading coats of arms designers in the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. He designed the current coat of arms of the Czech Republic, adopted in 1992, which incorporates the displays of the three historic Czech lands. Louda also designed the standard (official presidential flag) of President of the Czech Republic, which was adopted in 1993 following the country's independence. Additionally, Louda created coat of arms of the Olomouc Region, as well as the municipal coats of arms for more than 200 towns and cities throughout the Czech Republic.

Louda was born in Kutná Hora, Czechoslovakia, on October 3, 1920. He fled to the United Kingdom during World War II and the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, where the Czechoslovak government-in-exile was headquartered. He joined the exiled Czechoslovakian military during World War II and served as a paratrooper.

He was imprisoned by the Czechoslovakia's Communist regime during the late 1940s. Louda was released from prison in 1950.

Jiří Louda died in Olomouc on September 1, 2015, at the age of 94.

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