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Chief Guests on Republic Day
List of Chief Guests on Republic Day: Since 1950, India has hosted heads of state or governments of numerous countries as the state guest of honour for Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. Between 1950 and 1954, Republic Day celebrations were staged in several locales, including Irwin Stadium, Kingsway, Red Fort, and Ramlila Maidan.
In its current form, the parade was originally organised at Rajpath (now Kartavya Path) in 1955. The guest nation is chosen after taking strategic, economic, and political factors into account. Between 1950 and 1970, India hosted a number of countries from the Eastern Bloc and the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1968 and 1974, India hosted two nations on the same Republic Day. Read this article to know the List of Chief Guests on the Republic Day Parade from 1950 to 2024.
Chief Guests on Republic Day 2024
Republic Day 2024 will witness the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron as the distinguished Chief Guest on Republic Day 2024. This marks the sixth occasion that a French leader has been invited to preside over the event. India is set to commemorate its 75th Republic Day on Friday, 26 January.
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List of Chief Guests on Republic Day (1950-2024)
The primary goals of inviting a foreign leader are to strengthen bilateral ties and demonstrate the rich diversity of Indian culture. So, here we are providing you with a List of Chief Guests on Republic Day from 1950 to 2024.
Republic Day Year | Invited Guest and Country |
1950 | President Sukarno from Indonesia |
1951 | King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah the king of Nepal |
1952 | No invitation |
1953 | No invitation |
1954 | King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the 3rd king of Bhutan |
1955 | Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad of Pakistan |
1956 | Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler from the United Kingdom
Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka from Japan |
1957 | Minister of Defence Georgy Zhukov |
1958 | Marshall Ye Jianying from China |
1959 | Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip from the United Kingdom |
1960 | President Kliment Voroshilov from USSR |
1961 | Queen Elizabeth II from the United Kingdom |
1962 | Prime Minister Viggo Kampmann from Denmark |
1963 | King Norodom Sihanouk from Combodia |
1964 | Chief of Defence Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten from the United Kingdom |
1965 | Rana Abdul Hamid (Food and Agriculture Minister) from Pakistan |
1966 | No invitation |
1967 | King Mohammed Zahir Shah from Afghanistan |
1968 | Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin from USSR
President Josip Broz Tito form SFR Yugoslavia |
1969 | Prime Minister of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov |
1970 | King of the Belgians Baudouin of Belgium |
1971 | President Julius Nyerere, of Tanzania |
1972 | Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, of Mauritius |
1973 | President Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire |
1974 | President Josip Broz Tito, SFR Yugoslavia
Prime Minister Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias 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 José López Portillo, Mexico |
1982 | Spain’s King Juan Carlos I |
1983 | Nigerian President Shehu Shagari |
1984 | Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
1985 | Argentina’s President Ral Alfonsn |
1986 | Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou |
1987 | President Alan Garcia of Peru |
1988 | Sri Lankan President Junius Jayewardene |
1989 | Vietnam’s general secretary Nguyen Van Linh |
1990 | Mauritius’s Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth |
1991 | Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom |
1992 | Portugal’s President Mário Soares |
1993 | British Prime Minister John Major |
1994 | Singapore’s Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister |
1995 | South African President Nelson Mandela |
1996 | Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
1997 | Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Basdeo Panday |
1998 | French President Jacques Chirac |
1999 | Nepal’s King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev |
2000 | Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo |
2001 | Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika |
2002 | Mauritius’s President Cassam Uteem |
2003 | Iranian President Mohammed Khatami |
2004 | Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva |
2005 | Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
2006 | Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud |
2007 | Russian President Vladimir Putin |
2008 | France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy |
2009 | Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev |
2010 | Lee Myung Bak, President of the Republic of Korea |
2011 | Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
2012 | Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra |
2013 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the monarch of Bhutan |
2014 | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe |
2015 | American President Barack Obama |
2017 | United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed |
2018 |
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2019 | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa |
2020 | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro |
2021 | United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson postponed his visit. |
2022 | No Chief due to Covid-19 |
2023 | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi |
2024 | French President Emmanuel Macron |
Republic Day Chief Guest Chosen by Indian Government
The Indian government will send an invitation to either the Head of State or the Government six months before Republic Day, depending on the type of relationship India has with the pertinent nation. The Indian President and Indian Prime Minister’s approval is required before the invitation may be sent.