With the Republic Day around the corner, the national capital of India – New Delhi, is once again starting to don a festive look. Each year, Indians look forward to an impressive display of military might and cultural wealth at the Republic Day parade held at the Rajpath, Delhi. Republic Day is celebrated every year with full fervour in India. Chief Guests from different countries are invited to attend the celebrations and grace the ceremony.
The Chief Guest, who is invited, is usually the head of a state or government. The choice of this Chief Guest, too, is the result of India’s diplomatic and economic stance and sets the tone for the year to come. Being invited by India to be present at one of the momentous events held is also an opportunity for the guest to strengthen bonds of economic and military cooperation. International geopolitics and strategic alliances also play a very important role in the choice of Republic Day chief guest.
In 2015, just after coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited erstwhile POTUS Barack Obama as the chief guest of the Republic Day. In 2016 President François Hollande of France and in 2017 Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE graced the occasion. In 2018, there were numerous chief guests – leaders of all the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. In 2019, Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa was the Chief Guest.
This year, 2020, the chief guest is Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil.
List of Chief Guests on Indian Republic Day Parades (1950 – 2020)
| Year | Guest name | Country |
| 1950 | President Sukarno | Indonesia |
| 1951 | King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah | Nepal |
| 1952 | No invitation | No invitation |
| 1953 | No invitation | No invitation |
| 1954 | King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1955 | Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad | Pakistan |
| 1956 | Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler | United Kingdom |
| Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka | Japan | |
| 1957 | Minister of Defence Georgy Zhukov | Soviet Union |
| 1958 | Marshall Ye Jianying | China |
| 1959 | Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip | United Kingdom |
| 1960 | Chairman Kliment Voroshilov | Soviet Union |
| 1961 | Queen Elizabeth II | United Kingdom |
| 1962 | Prime Minister Viggo Kampmann | Denmark |
| 1963 | King Norodom Sihanouk | Cambodia |
| 1964 | Chief of Defence Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten | United Kingdom |
| 1965 | Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hamid | Pakistan |
| 1966 | No invitation | No invitation |
| 1967 | King Mohammed Zahir Shah | Afghanistan |
| 1968 | Chairman Alexei Kosygin | Soviet Union |
| President Josip Broz Tito | Yugoslavia | |
| 1969 | Prime Minister Todor Zhivkov | Bulgaria |
| 1970 | King of the Belgians Baudouin | Belgium |
| 1971 | President Julius Nyerere | Tanzania |
| 1972 | Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | Mauritius |
| 1973 | President Mobutu Sese Seko | Zaire |
| 1974 | President Josip Broz Tito | Yugoslavia |
| Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka | |
| 1975 | President Kenneth Kaunda | Zambia |
| 1976 | Prime Minister Jacques Chirac | France |
| 1977 | First Secretary Edward Gierek | Poland |
| 1978 | President Patrick Hillery | Ireland |
| 1979 | Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser | Australia |
| 1980 | President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing | France |
| 1981 | President Jose Lopez Portillo | Mexico |
| 1982 | King Juan Carlos I | Spain |
| 1983 | President Shehu Shagari | Nigeria |
| 1984 | King Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1985 | President Raúl Alfonsín | Argentina |
| 1986 | Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou | Greece |
| 1987 | President Alan Garcia | Peru |
| 1988 | President J. R. Jayewardene | Sri Lanka |
| 1989 | General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh | Vietnam |
| 1990 | Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth | Mauritius |
| 1991 | President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom | Maldives |
| 1992 | President Mário Soares | Portugal |
| 1993 | Prime Minister John Major | United Kingdom |
| 1994 | Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong | Singapore |
| 1995 | President Nelson Mandela | South Africa |
| 1996 | President Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso | Brazil |
| 1997 | Prime Minister Basdeo Panday | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 1998 | President Jacques Chirac | France |
| 1999 | King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev | Nepal |
| 2000 | President Olusegun Obasanjo | Nigeria |
| 2001 | President Abdelaziz Bouteflika | Algeria |
| 2002 | President Cassam Uteem | Mauritius |
| 2003 | President Mohammed Khatami | Iran |
| 2004 | President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva | Brazil |
| 2005 | King Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2006 | King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud | Saudi Arabia |
| 2007 | President Vladimir Putin | Russia |
| 2008 | President Nicolas Sarkozy | France |
| 2009 | President Nursultan Nazarbayev | Kazakhstan |
| 2010 | President Lee Myung Bak | South Korea |
| 2011 | President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono | Indonesia |
| 2012 | Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra | Thailand |
| 2013 | King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2014 | Prime Minister Shinzo Abe | Japan |
| 2015 | President Barack Obama | United States |
| 2016 | President François Hollande | France |
| 2017 | Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | United Arab Emirates |
| 2018 | Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah | Brunei |
| 2018 | Prime Minister Hun Sen | Cambodia |
| 2018 | President Joko Widodo | Indonesia |
| 2018 | Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith | Laos |
| 2018 | Prime Minister Najib Razak | Malaysia |
| 2018 | President Htin Kyaw | Myanmar |
| 2018 | President Rodrigo Roa Duterte | Philippines |
| 2018 | President Halimah Yacob | Singapore |
| 2018 | Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha | Thailand |
| 2018 | Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | Vietnam |
| 2019 | Cyril Ramaphosa | South Africa |
| 2020 | President Jair Bolsonaro | Brazil |
Related Links:
Writing a Great Republic Day Speech
Essay on Republic Day (26 January)
