Republic Day Chief Guest

Republic Day in India is celebrated on the 26th of January every year in a grand way. The entire country celebrates this day by enjoying democratic rights and by witnessing the brilliant parade show organized by the Government of India in Rajpath, New Delhi. Every year, eminent political personalities from different countries are invited as the chief guests to commemorate this auspicious day for India. In this article, we will learn about the list of all chief guests on the Indian Republic Day parade.

(Image will be uploaded soon)

Republic Day Parade Chief Guestlist

India is a sovereign country and attained its democratic status in the year 1950. On the 26th of January, every year, a gala parade is organized where schools, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force, and all the states showcase their prowess and heritage. Every year, chief guests from different countries are invited to witness the celebration of this day.

On 14th January 2021, it was announced that due to COVID-19, no chief guests would be invited for this year’s celebrations of Republic Day. It is the first time that happened in 50 years that a chief guest is not being invited as the entire celebration was canceled due to the raging pandemic figures in India.

In the year 2020, India invited Boris Johnson, the prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to witness the parade organized in Rajpath, New Delhi. The UK Foreign Office canceled all the plans of sending the Prime Minister due to the raging effect of COVID-19 in 2021. India also invited Bangladesh to perform on the parade in Rajpath in order to celebrate five decades of diplomatic ties. The armed forces of Bangladesh were invited to showcase their prowess to the rest of the world on this day in this ground of India’s Republic Day parade.

The Indian High Commission operating in Dhaka said in a press release that it is the 3rd time that India has invited a foreign armed force or military contingent to perform on this auspicious day. It was supposed to happen in the year 2021 to earmark the celebration of Bangladesh’s liberation from Pakistan’s rule in 1971. The dramatic win against the forces of Pakistan with the collaboration of India was planned to be commemorated on that day, but the entire program was cancelled.

You will be surprised to know that the first four celebrations of Republic Day in India, ranging from 1951 to 1954, were conducted in four different locations. The locations are Red Fort, Irwin Stadium, Ram Lila Maidan, and Kingsway Marg. It was in 1955, the first parade was held in Rajpath in New Delhi. That year, the chief guest was Malik Ghulam Muhammad, the Governor-General of Pakistan. However, the first chief guest of the Republic Day celebration in 1950 was Sukarno, the Indonesian President. It was not celebrated in Rajpath, as mentioned earlier. France and the United Kingdom have received the invitation and attended this celebration 5 times, and it is the highest.

Here is a List of Personalities who Attended the Indian Republic Day Celebrations

In Chronological Order:

•   1950 – Indonesia – President Sukarno

•   1951 – Nepal - Raja Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah

•   1952 – 1953 – No invitation was sent to any country

•   1954 - Bhutan - King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck

•   1955 - Pakistan - Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad

•   1956 - United Kingdom - Chancellor of the Exchequer R A Butler

•   Japan - Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka 

•   1957 - The Soviet Union - Defense Minister Georgy Zhukov

•   1958 – China - Marshal Ye Jianying

•   1959 - United Kingdom - Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip

•   1960 - The Soviet Union - President Clement Voroshilov

•   1961 - United Kingdom - Queen Elizabeth II

•   1962 – Denmark - Prime Minister Viggo Kampman

•   1963 – Cambodia - King Norodom Sihanouk

•   1964 - United Kingdom - Chief of Defense Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten

•   1965 – Pakistan - Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hameed

•   1966 – No invitation was sent in this year

•   1967 – Afghanistan - Raja Mohammad Zaheer Shah

•   1968 - The Soviet Union - Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin 

•   SFR Yugoslavia - President Josip Broz Tito

•   1969 – Bulgaria - Bulgaria's Prime Minister Todd Zhivkov

•   1970- Belgium - King Baudouin of Belgium

•   1971 – Tanzania - President Julius Nyere

•   1972 – Mauritius - Prime Minister Seewosagur Ramgoolam

•   1973 - Zaire - President Mobutu Sese Seko

•   1974 – Yugoslavia - President Josip Broz Tito

•   Sri Lanka - Prime Minister Sirimavo Ravatte Des Bandaranaike

•   1975 – Zambia - President Kenneth Kaunda

•   1976 – France - Prime Minister Jack Chirac

•   1977 – Poland - First Secretary Edward Gierk

•   1978 – Ireland - President Patrick Hillary

•   1979 – Australia - Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser

•   1980 – France - President Valerie Giscard De-Aging

•   1981 - Mexico - President Jose López Portillo

•   1982 - Spain - King Juan Carlos I

•   1983 - Nigeria - President Shehu Shagari

•   1984 - Bhutan - King Jigme Singye Wangchuck

•   1985 - Argentina - President Raul Alfonsin

•   1986 - Greece - Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou

•   1987 - Peru - President Alan Garcia

•   1988 - Sri Lanka - President Junius Jayawardene

•   1989 - Vietnam - Secretary General Nguyen Van Linh

•   1990 – Mauritius - Prime Minister Aniruddha Jugnauth

•   1991 – Maldives - President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

•   1992 – Portugal - President Mario Soares

•   1993 - United Kingdom - Prime Minister John Major

•   1994 – Singapore - Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong

•   1995 - South Africa - Nelson Mandela

•   1996 – Brazil - President Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso

•   1997 - Trinidad and Tobago - Prime Minister Basdev Pandey

•   1998 – France - President Jacques Chirac

•   1999 – Nepal - Raja Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

•   2000 – Nigeria - President Olusegun Obasanjo

•   2001 - Algeria - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika

•   2002 – Mauritius - President Kasam Utem

•   2003 – Iran - President Mohamed Khatami

•   2004 - Brazil - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

•   2005 – Bhutan - King Jigme Singye Wangchuck

•   2006 - Saudi Arabia - King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 

•   2007 – Russia - President Vladimir Putin

•   2008 – France - President Nicolas Sarkozy

•   2009 – Kazakhstan - President Nursultan Nazarbayev

•   2010 - South Korea - President Lee Myung-bak

•   2011 – Indonesia - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

•   2012 – Thailand - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

•   2013 – Bhutan - King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

•   2014 – Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

•   2015 - United States of America - President Barack Obama

•   2016 – France - President Francois Hollande

•   2017 - United Arab Emirates - Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed

•   2018 – Brunei - Sultan Hassanal Bolkiyah

•   Indonesia - Joko Widodo

•   Laos - Thongloun Sisolith

•   Cambodia - Prime Minister Hun Sen

•   Malaysia - Najib Razak

•   Myanmar - President Htin Kyaw

•   Philippines - Rodrigo Ro Duterre

•   Singapore - Halim Yakub

•   Thailand - Prayuth Chan-osha

•   Vietnam - Nguyen Xuan Phuc

•   2019 - South Africa - President Cyril Ramaphosa 

•   2020 – Brazil - President Jair Bolsonaro

•   2021 – No chief guest was invited due to COVID-19

This is the entire list of chief guests on Indian Republic Day parade you need to remember and increase your general knowledge. Remember the names of the eminent personalities visiting from different countries and enjoying the bliss and prowess of the Republic Day celebration and display of the power of India. Don’t forget the years when no guests were invited by the Government of India due to some unsolicited reasons. As per the Republic Day parade chief guest list, the guests who were supposed to attend the 2021 Republic Day parade were cancelled due to the raging cases of the COVID-19 pandemic.