List of Chief Guests of Republic Day Parade in India from 1950 - 2023
On 26 January, every year, India celebrates Republic Day to mark the day on which the Constitution of India came into effect. On this historic day of January 26th, India replaced the Government of India Act 1935 with the constitution of India as the document that governs India. On Republic Day, India celebrates its incredibly diverse cultural heritage and showcases the defence power of India in a parade organized on Kartavya Path. The parade is planned in New Delhi, the nation's capital, where the festivities take place. The parade features a dazzling show of the nation's military prowess, cultural diversity, and accomplishments across a variety of ministries, departments, and industries.
List of Republic Day Chief Guests in India
The participation of chief guests from other nations is one of the attractions of the Republic Day event. As a gesture of peace and cooperation between the two nations, India invites the principal guest every year. The importance and splendor of the event are increased by the participation of a foreign dignitary. Ever since the first Republic Day of India in 1950, we invite Republic Day guests to visit and attend the event. Below is a list of all the Republic Day guests that India has ever invited:
|
Year |
Country and Post/Designation |
Guest name |
|
1950 |
Indonesia President of Indonesia |
Sukarno |
|
1951 |
Nepal King of Nepal |
King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah |
|
1952 |
No invitation |
No invitation |
|
1953 |
No invitation |
No invitation |
|
1954 |
Bhutan King of Nepal |
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck |
|
1955 |
Pakistan Governor General of Pakistan |
Malik Ghulam Muhammad |
|
1956 |
United Kingdom Chancellor of UK |
Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler |
|
Japan Chief Justice of Japan |
Kotaro Tanaka |
|
|
1957 |
Soviet Union Minister of Defence |
Georgy Zhukov |
|
1958 |
China Marshall of China |
Ye Jianying |
|
1959 |
United Kingdom Duke of United Kingdom |
Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip |
|
1960 |
Soviet Union Chairman of Soviet Union |
Kliment Voroshilov |
|
1961 |
United Kingdom Queen of United Kingdom |
Queen Elizabeth II |
|
1962 |
Denmark PM of Denmark |
Viggo Kampmann |
|
1963 |
Cambodia King of Cambodia |
Norodom Sihanouk |
|
1964 |
United Kingdom Chief of Defence Staff of UK |
Lord Louis Mountbatten |
|
1965 |
Pakistan Food and Agriculture Minister of Pakistan |
Rana Abdul Hamid |
|
1966 |
No invitation |
No invitation |
|
1967 |
Afghanistan King of Afghanistan |
Mohammed Zahir Shah |
|
1968 |
Soviet Union Chairman of Soviet Union |
Alexei Kosygin |
|
Yugoslavia President of Yugoslavia |
Josip Broz Tito |
|
|
1969 |
Bulgaria PM of Bulgaria |
Todor Zhivkov |
|
1970 |
Belgium King of the Belgium |
Baudouin |
|
1971 |
Tanzania President of Tanzania |
Julius Nyerere |
|
1972 |
Mauritius PM of Mauritius |
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam |
|
1973 |
Zaire President of Zaire |
Mobutu Sese Seko |
|
1974 |
Yugoslavia President of Yugoslavia |
President Josip Broz Tito |
|
Sri Lanka PM of Sri Lanka |
Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
|
|
1975 |
Zambia President of Zambia |
Kenneth Kaunda |
|
1976 |
France PM of France |
Jacques Chirac |
|
1977 |
Poland Secretary of Poland |
First Secretary Edward Gierek |
|
1978 |
Ireland President of Ireland |
Patrick Hillery |
|
1979 |
Australia PM of Australia |
Malcolm Fraser |
|
1980 |
France President of France |
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing |
|
1981 |
Mexico President of Mexico |
Jose Lopez Portillo |
|
1982 |
Spain King of Spain |
King Juan Carlos I |
|
1983 |
Nigeria President of Nigeria |
Shehu Shagari |
|
1984 |
Bhutan King of Bhutan |
Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
|
1985 |
Argentina President of Argentina |
Raúl Alfonsín |
|
1986 |
Greece PM of Greece |
Andreas Papandreou |
|
1987 |
Peru President of Peru |
Alan Garcia |
|
1988 |
Sri Lanka President of Sri Lanka |
J. R. Jayewardene |
|
1989 |
Vietnam General Secretary of Vietnam |
Nguyen Van Linh |
|
1990 |
Mauritius PM of Mauritius |
Anerood Jugnauth |
|
1991 |
Maldives President of Maldives |
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom |
|
1992 |
Portugal President of Portugal |
Mário Soares |
|
1993 |
United Kingdom PM of UK |
John Major |
|
1994 |
Singapore PM of Singapore |
Goh Chok Tong |
|
1995 |
South Africa President of South Africa |
Nelson Mandela |
|
1996 |
Brazil President of Brazil |
Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
|
1997 |
Trinidad and Tobago PM of Trinidad and Tobago |
Basdeo Panday |
|
1998 |
France President of France |
Jacques Chirac |
|
1999 |
Nepal King of Nepal |
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev |
|
2000 |
Nigeria President of Nigeria |
Olusegun Obasanjo |
|
2001 |
Algeria President of Algeria |
Abdelaziz Bouteflika |
|
2002 |
Mauritius President of Mauritius |
Cassam Uteem |
|
2003 |
Iran President of Iran |
Mohammed Khatami |
|
2004 |
Brazil President of Brazil |
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva |
|
2005 |
Bhutan King of Bhutan |
Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
|
2006 |
Saudi Arabia King of Saudi Arabia |
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud |
|
2007 |
Russia President of Russia |
Vladimir Putin |
|
2008 |
France President of France |
Nicolas Sarkozy |
|
2009 |
Kazakhstan President of Kazakhstan |
Nursultan Nazarbayev |
|
2010 |
South Korea President of South Korea |
Lee Myung Bak |
|
2011 |
Indonesia President of Indonesia |
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
|
2012 |
Thailand PM of Thailand |
Yingluck Shinawatra |
|
2013 |
Bhutan King of Bhutan |
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck |
|
2014 |
Japan PM of Japan |
Shinzo Abe |
|
2015 |
United States President of USA |
Barack Obama |
|
2016 |
France President of France |
François Hollande |
|
2017 |
United Arab Emirates Prince of UAE |
Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan |
|
2018 |
Brunei Sultan of Brunei |
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah |
|
2018 |
Cambodia PM of Cambodia |
Hun Sen |
|
2018 |
Indonesia President of Indonesia |
Joko Widodo |
|
2018 |
Laos PM of Laos |
Thongloun Sisoulith |
|
2018 |
Malaysia PM of Malaysia |
Najib Razak |
|
2018 |
Myanmar President of Myanmar |
Htin Kyaw |
|
2018 |
Philippines President of Philippines |
Rodrigo Roa Duterte |
|
2018 |
Singapore President of Singapore |
Halimah Yacob |
|
2018 |
Thailand PM of Thailand |
Prayuth Chan-ocha |
|
2018 |
Vietnam PM of Vietnam |
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc |
|
2019 |
South Africa Cyril of South Africa |
Cyril Ramaphosa |
|
2020 |
Brazil President of Brazil |
Jair Bolsonaro |
|
2021 |
United Kingdom President of UK |
Boris Johnson |
|
2022 |
- |
- |
|
2023 |
Egypt President of Egypt |
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi |
Significance of Republic Day Chief Guests
Here are some details regarding visitors to India's Republic Day:
- Since the 1950s, India has had the custom of inviting foreign leaders to be the main guest at Republic Day celebrations.
- The Republic Day Parade Chief Guest symbolizes close diplomatic ties between India and the invited nation’s international dignitaries who attend Republic Day celebrations.
- Being asked to be the Chief guest at Republic Day commemoration is regarded as an engagement and interaction between two nations and gives leaders a chance to discuss a range of bilateral and international concerns.
- A foreign dignitary's attendance in Republic Day festivities draws attention to the strategic importance of the partnership involving India and the guest nation.
The above-given list is the complete list of Republic Day Chief Guests from other nations from 1950 till now. The participation of a foreign dignitary enhances the Republic Day celebrations' significance and grandeur and acts as a representation of the close links between both India and the invited nation.
