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List of chief guests at Delhi Republic Day parade

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Countries invited as chief guests for the Republic Day parade. Yugoslavia (twice invited) has not been depicted in the map.
  6 times (France)
  5 times (United Kingdom)
  4 times (Bhutan, Soviet Union/Russia)
  Thrice (Brazil, Indonesia, Mauritius)
  Twice (Cambodia, Japan, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam)
  Once
  Never invited

Since 1950, India has been hosting head of state or government of another country as the state guest of honour for Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. During 1950–1954, Republic Day celebrations were organised at different venues (like Irwin Amphitheatre, Kingsway, Red Fort and Ramlila Maidan). It was only starting 1955 when the parade in its present form was organised at Rajpath.[1] The guest country is chosen after a deliberation of strategic, economic and political interests. During 1950s–1970s, a number of Non-Aligned Movement and Eastern Bloc countries were hosted by India. In 1968 and 1974, India played host to two countries on the same Republic Day.

By continent, the invitations break up as follows:

Continent Invitations Countries
Asia 36 Afghanistan, Bhutan (4 times), Brunei, Cambodia (twice), China, Indonesia (thrice), Iran, Japan (twice), Kazakhstan, Laos, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal (twice), Pakistan (twice), Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore (twice), South Korea, Sri Lanka (twice), Thailand (twice), United Arab Emirates, Vietnam (twice)
Europe 25 Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France (6 times), Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Soviet Union/Russia (4 times), Spain, Yugoslavia (twice), United Kingdom (5 times)
Africa 12 Algeria, Egypt, Mauritius (thrice), Nigeria (twice), South Africa (twice), Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia
South America 5 Argentina, Brazil (thrice), Peru
North America 3 Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Oceania 1 Australia

By geographic region, the invitations break up as follows:

Region Invitations Countries
South Asia 13 Afghanistan, Bhutan (4 times), Maldives, Nepal (twice), Pakistan (twice), Sri Lanka (twice)
Central Asia 1 Kazakhstan
East Asia 4 China, Japan (twice), South Korea
Southeast Asia 16 Brunei, Cambodia (twice), Indonesia (thrice), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore (twice), Thailand (twice), Vietnam (twice)
West Asia 3 Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
North Africa 2 Algeria, Egypt
West Africa 2 Nigeria (twice)
Central Africa 1 Zaire
Southern Africa 6 South Africa (twice), Mauritius (thrice), Zambia
East Africa 1 Tanzania
Eastern Europe 8 Bulgaria, Poland, Yugoslavia (twice), Soviet Union/Russia (4 times)
Western Europe 17 Belgium, Denmark, France (6 times), Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom (5 times)
Northern America 2 United States, Mexico
Caribbean 1 Trinidad and Tobago
South America 5 Argentina, Brazil (thrice), Peru
Oceania 1 Australia

List of chief guests

[edit]
Year Portrait Chief Guest Country Designation Note Host
1950 Sukarno[2]  Indonesia President of Indonesia Rajendra Prasad
1951 Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah[3]  Nepal King of Nepal
1952
No information available
1953
1954 Jigme Dorji Wangchuck[4]  Bhutan King of Bhutan Rajendra Prasad
1955 Malik Ghulam Muhammad[5]  Pakistan Governor-General of Pakistan First guest for parade at Rajpath[6]
1956 Rab Butler  United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer Two guests[7][note 1]
Kōtarō Tanaka  Japan Chief Justice of Japan
1957 Georgy Zhukov[9]  Soviet Union Minister of Defence
1958 Ye Jianying[10]  China Marshal of the People's Liberation Army
1959 Philip[11][12][13]  United Kingdom Consort of Queen Elizabeth II 2nd invitation
1960 Kliment Voroshilov[14]  Soviet Union Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 2nd invitation
1961 Elizabeth II[15]  United Kingdom Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms 3rd invitation[note 2]
1962 Viggo Kampmann[16]  Denmark Prime Minister of Denmark [note 3]
1963 Norodom Sihanouk[18]  Cambodia King of Cambodia Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
1964 Louis Mountbatten[8]  United Kingdom Chief of the Defence Staff 4th invitation[note 1]
1965 Rana Abdul Hamid  Pakistan Minister of Food and Agriculture 2nd invitation
1966
No information available[note 4]
1967 Mohammed Zahir Shah[20]  Afghanistan King of Afghanistan [note 5] Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
1968 Alexei Kosygin  Soviet Union Chairman of the Council of Ministers 3rd invitation Two guests[23] Zakir Husain
Josip Broz Tito  Yugoslavia President of Yugoslavia
1969 Todor Zhivkov[24]  Bulgaria Prime Minister of Bulgaria
1970 Baudouin[25][26]  Belgium King of Belgium [note 6] V. V. Giri
1971 Julius Nyerere[27]  Tanzania President of Tanzania
1972 Seewoosagur Ramgoolam[28]  Mauritius Prime Minister of Mauritius
1973 Mobutu Sese Seko[29]  Zaire President of Zaire
1974 Josip Broz Tito  Yugoslavia President of Yugoslavia 2nd invitation Two guests[30]
Sirimavo Bandaranaike  Sri Lanka Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
1975 Kenneth Kaunda[31]  Zambia President of Zambia Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
1976 Jacques Chirac[32]  France Prime Minister of France
1977 Edward Gierek[33]  Poland First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party
1978 Patrick Hillery[34]  Ireland President of Ireland Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
1979 Malcolm Fraser[35]  Australia Prime Minister of Australia
1980 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing  France President of France 2nd invitation
1981 Jose Lopez Portillo[36]  Mexico President of Mexico
1982 Juan Carlos I[37]  Spain King of Spain
1983 Shehu Shagari[38]  Nigeria President of Nigeria Zail Singh
1984 Jigme Singye Wangchuck[39]  Bhutan King of Bhutan 2nd invitation
1985 Raúl Alfonsín[40]  Argentina President of Argentina
1986 Andreas Papandreou[41]  Greece Prime Minister of Greece
1987 Alan Garcia[42]  Peru President of Peru
1988 J. R. Jayewardene[43]  Sri Lanka President of Sri Lanka 2nd invitation Ramaswamy Venkataraman
1989 Nguyễn Văn Linh[44]  Vietnam General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
1990 Anerood Jugnauth[45]  Mauritius Prime Minister of Mauritius 2nd invitation
1991 Maumoon Abdul Gayoom[46]  Maldives President of the Maldives
1992 Mário Soares[46]  Portugal President of Portugal
1993 John Major[46]  United Kingdom Prime Minister of United Kingdom 5th invitation Shankar Dayal Sharma
1994 Goh Chok Tong[46]  Singapore Prime Minister of Singapore
1995 Nelson Mandela[47]  South Africa President of South Africa
1996 Fernando Henrique Cardoso[46]  Brazil President of Brazil
1997 Basdeo Panday[46]  Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
1998 Jacques Chirac[46]  France President of France 3rd invitation K. R. Narayanan
1999 Birendra Bir Bikram Shah[46]  Nepal King of Nepal 2nd invitation
2000 Olusegun Obasanjo[46]  Nigeria President of Nigeria 2nd invitation
2001 Abdelaziz Bouteflika[46]  Algeria President of Algeria
2002 Cassam Uteem[46]  Mauritius President of Mauritius 3rd invitation
2003 Mohammed Khatami[46]  Iran President of Iran A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
2004 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva[46]  Brazil President of Brazil 2nd invitation
2005 Jigme Singye Wangchuck[46]  Bhutan King of Bhutan 3rd invitation
2006 Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud[46]  Saudi Arabia King of Saudi Arabia
2007 Vladimir Putin[46]  Russia President of Russia 4th invitation
2008 Nicolas Sarkozy[46]  France President of France 4th invitation Pratibha Patil
2009 Nursultan Nazarbayev[46]  Kazakhstan President of Kazakhstan
2010 Lee Myung Bak[48]  South Korea President of South Korea
2011 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono[49][50]  Indonesia President of Indonesia 2nd invitation
2012 Yingluck Shinawatra[51]  Thailand Prime Minister of Thailand
2013 Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck[52]  Bhutan King of Bhutan 4th invitation Pranab Mukherjee
2014 Shinzo Abe[53]  Japan Prime Minister of Japan 2nd invitation
2015 Barack Obama[54]  United States President of the United States
2016 François Hollande  France President of France 5th invitation[55]
2017 Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan[56]  United Arab Emirates Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
2018 Hassanal Bolkiah  Brunei Sultan of Brunei Ten guests (heads of the ASEAN states)[57] Ram Nath Kovind
Hun Sen  Cambodia Prime Minister of Cambodia 2nd invitation
Joko Widodo  Indonesia President of Indonesia 3rd invitation
Thongloun Sisoulith  Laos Prime Minister of Laos
Najib Razak  Malaysia Prime Minister of Malaysia
Aung San Suu Kyi  Myanmar State Counsellor of Myanmar
Rodrigo Duterte  Philippines President of the Philippines
Lee Hsien Loong  Singapore Prime Minister of Singapore 2nd invitation
Prayut Chan-o-cha  Thailand Prime Minister of Thailand 2nd invitation
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc  Vietnam Prime Minister of Vietnam 2nd invitation
2019 Cyril Ramaphosa[58][59]  South Africa President of South Africa 2nd invitation
2020 Jair Bolsonaro[60]  Brazil President of Brazil 3rd invitation
2021
No chief guest due to COVID-19 pandemic[61][62][note 7][note 8]
2022
2023 Abdel Fattah el-Sisi[66]  Egypt President of Egypt Droupadi Murmu
2024 Emmanuel Macron[67]  France President of France 6th invitation

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b On each of these occasions, Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma from United Kingdom was also the official guest for the parade.[7][8]
  2. ^ Prince Philip also accompanied Queen Elizabeth II during the parade.[15]
  3. ^ Attended Republic Day in Madras (Chennai).[17]
  4. ^ No invitations were sent out possibly due to the demise of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent. The new government headed by Indira Gandhi was sworn in on 24 January 1966 (only two days before the Republic Day).[19]
  5. ^ For the first time, the President of India (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan) could not take the salute at the Republic Day parade due to ill-health.[21] Mohammed Zahir Shah arrived on 28 January.[22]
  6. ^ Attended only the Beating Retreat.[25][26]
  7. ^ An invitation for 2021 was sent to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but after a few weeks he cancelled his visit, citing the need to oversee pandemic response in the United Kingdom.[63]
  8. ^ Invitation for 2022 were sent to leaders of five Central Asian nations – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan and Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan. But due to surge in COVID-19 cases and the new Omicron variant being on the rise, Indian government decided not to host foreign dignitaries.[64][65]

References

[edit]
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  2. ^ "Republic Day celebrations: President Pranab Mukherjee tweets images from 1950 onwards". The Economic Times. 25 July 2017.
  3. ^ India, President of (18 January 2015). "King Tribhuvan of Nepal was the guest of honour for the Republic Day in 1951 #26Januarypic.twitter.com/piqaZUKolr".
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  7. ^ a b "REPUBLIC DAY IN DELHI: Parade In Heart Of City". The Times of India. 22 January 1956. p. 4. ProQuest 501661043.
  8. ^ a b British Pathé (13 April 2014). "Republic Celebration (1964)" – via YouTube.
  9. ^ British Pathé (13 April 2014). "Zhukov At India's National Day Aka Zhukov – India (1957)" – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Deepak, B. R (1 January 2005). India & China, 1904–2004: A century of peace and conflict. ISBN 9788178271125.
  11. ^ "In India, they have been celebrating Republic Day. After the parade..."
  12. ^ "Archived copy". mealib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ British Pathé (13 April 2014). "Duke Popular Everywhere (1959)" – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Prasad, Rajendra (1984). Dr. Rajendra Prasad: Correspondence and Select Documents. ISBN 9788170230021.
  15. ^ a b "Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, News Photo, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth be". Timescontent.com. 26 January 1961. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  16. ^ "Archived copy". mealib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "Danish Premier to Visit India". The Times of India. 4 January 1962. p. 7. ProQuest 365725781.
  18. ^ Indian Information. 1962.
  19. ^ Pranay Gupte (15 February 2012). Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi. ISBN 978-0-14-306826-6. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Archived copy". mealib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ^ "Asian Recorder". 25 July 1967 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ "Asian Almanac". V.T. Sambandan. 25 July 1967 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ "visit to New Delhi of Mr Kosygin on the occasion of Republic Day – Google zoeken". 2 November 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Asian Recorder". 1969. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. ^ a b "Archived copy". mealib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ^ a b Link: Indian Newsmagazine. 25 July 1970.
  27. ^ "India". 1971. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  28. ^ "Foreign Affairs Record". 1972. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ Reed, Sir Stanley (1974). "The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  30. ^ "Indian and Foreign Review". 1973. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  31. ^ "Written Answers". Lok Sabha Debates: 13th Session. Vol. XLVIII. New Delhi: Lok Sabha Secretariat. 20 February 1975. Col. 40.
  32. ^ "Interview given by Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic, to the Indian weekly magazine "India Today" – la France en Australie". www.ambafrance-au.org. Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  33. ^ "The Eastern Economist". 1977. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  34. ^ "Patrick J. Hillery". Clarelibrary.ie. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  35. ^ "Bilateral Visits". Hcindia-au.org. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  36. ^ "MEA | MEA Links : Indian Missions Abroad". Mealib.nic.in. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  37. ^ "MEA | MEA Links : Indian Missions Abroad". Mealib.nic.in. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  38. ^ "MEA | MEA Links : Indian Missions Abroad". Mealib.nic.in. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  39. ^ "MEA | MEA Links : Indian Missions Abroad". Mealib.nic.in. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  40. ^ "India Argentina Relations" (PDF). Mea.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  41. ^ "Annual Report 2000–2001" (PDF). Mea.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  42. ^ "meacommunity.org". meacommunity.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  43. ^ "meacommunity.org". meacommunity.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  44. ^ "meacommunity.org". meacommunity.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  45. ^ "Choosing R-Day chief guest: Behind the warm welcome, a cold strategy". www.indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Choosing R-Day chief guest: Behind the warm welcome, a cold strategy". Indian Express. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  47. ^ "General South African History timeline" sahistory.org.za Accessed on 13 June 2008.
  48. ^ "Choosing R-Day chief guest: Behind the warm welcome, a cold strategy". Indian Express. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  49. ^ "Indonesian President next R-Day parade chief guest – Rediff.com India News". News.rediff.com. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  50. ^ "Indonesian President next R-Day parade chief guest – Rediff.com India News". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  51. ^ New Delhi, 2 Dec (IANS) (20 January 2012). "Thai PM to be chief guest on India's Republic Day". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  52. ^ "India invites King of Bhutan as chief guest at Republic Day celebrations". Ibnlive.in.com. 26 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  53. ^ "India likely to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as Republic Day chief guest : India, News – India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  54. ^ "Obama in India joins Modi at Delhi Republic Day parade". BBC News. 26 January 2015.
  55. ^ "French President Hollande invited as Republic Day guest". 22 November 2015.
  56. ^ "Abu Dhabi Crown Prince to be chief guest on Republic Day".
  57. ^ "India to invite heads of 10 Asean nations for Republic Day celebrations – Times of India". The Times of India.
  58. ^ "South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa accepts PM Modi's invite, to be 2019 Republic Day chief guest". www.hindustantimes.com. 1 December 2018.
  59. ^ "Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale: PM had a number of bilateral engagements this morning.Argentina PM is keen to make a visit to India in 2019. PM extended South Africa Pres Cyril Ramaphosa invitation to be chief guest for India's Republic Day in 2019& Ramaphosa accepted.#G20Summitpic.twitter.com/DinFx7zdTV". 1 December 2018.
  60. ^ "PM Modi to hold talks with Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro in New Delhi today". All India Radio. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  61. ^ "No Chief Guest for 2021 says centre". Hindustan Times. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  62. ^ "No chief guest at Republic Day for two years in a row amid COVID surge, say sources". Firstpost. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  63. ^ "Boris Johnson, UK PM and Republic Day chief guest, cancels India visit". MoneyControl. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  64. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (13 December 2021). "Five Central Asian leaders invited as R-Day chief guests". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  65. ^ Haidar, Suhasini; Bhattacherjee, Kallol (19 January 2022). "No Central Asian chief guests at this year's Republic Day celebrations". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  66. ^ "Egypt's president to be chef guest at Republic Day Celebration". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  67. ^ "French President Macron to be chief guest for 2024 Republic Day parade". Hindustan Times. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
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