Introduction
India has been hosting head of state or government of another country as the state guest of honor for Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, Since 1950. During 1950–1954, Indian Republic Day celebrations were organised at different venues (like Irwin Stadium, Kingsway, Red Fort and Ramlila Grounds). It was only starting 1955 when the parade in its present form was organised at Rajpath. This is an important topic for General Awareness section of different competitive exams.
Chief Guests
The guest country is chosen after a deliberation of strategic, economic and political interests. During 1950s–1970s, a number of NAM and Eastern Bloc countries were hosted by India.
Cyril Ramaphosa is a South African politician and the fifth and current President of South Africa, was the chief guest at the [latex]{70}^{th}[/latex]Republic Day 2019.
Following is the list of all Chief guest invited to attend Republic Day Parade of India ([latex]{26}^{th}[/latex]January) since 1950 to 2019.
| Year | Chief Guest Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Cyril Ramaphosa | South Africa |
| 2018 | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | Vietnam |
| Prayuth Chan-ocha | Thailand | |
| Halimah Yacob | Singapore | |
| Rodrigo Roa Duterte | Philippines | |
| Halimah Yacob | Myanmar | |
| Najib Razak | Malaysia | |
| Thongloun Sisoulith | Laos | |
| Joko Widodo | Indonesia | |
| Hun Sen | Cambodia | |
| Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah | Brunei | |
| 2017 | Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Cambodia |
| 2016 | Francois Hollande | France |
| 2015 | Barack Obama (President) | United States of America |
| 2014 | Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister) | Japan |
| 2013 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2012 | Yingluck Shinawatra First Female Prime Minister of Thailand | Thailand |
| 2011 | President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono | Indonesia |
| 2010 | Lee Myung Bak | South Korea |
| 2009 | President Nursultan Nazarbayev | Kazakhstan |
| 2008 | President Nicolas Sarkozy | France |
| 2007 | President Vladimir Putin | Russia |
| 2006 | King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud | Saudi Arabia |
| 2005 | King Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2004 | President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva | Brazil |
| 2003 | President Mohammed Khatami | Iran |
| 2002 | President Cassam Uteem | Mauritius |
| 2001 | President Abdelaziz Bouteflika | Algeria |
| 2000 | President Olusegun Obasanjo | Nigeria |
| 1999 | King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev | Nepal |
| 1998 | President Jacques Chirac | France |
| 1997 | Prime Minister Basdeo Panday | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 1996 | President Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso | Brazil |
| 1995 | President Nelson Mandela | South Africa |
| 1994 | Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong | Singapore |
| 1993 | Prime Minister John Major | United Kingdom |
| 1992 | President Mário Soares | Portugal |
| 1991 | President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom | Maldives |
| 1990 | Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth | Mauritius |
| 1989 | General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh | Vietnam |
| 1988 | President Junius Jayewardene | Sri Lanka |
| 1987 | President Alan Garcia | Peru |
| 1986 | Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou | Greece |
| 1985 | President Raúl Alfonsín | Argentina |
| 1984 | King Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1983 | President Shehu Shagari | Nigeria |
| 1982 | King Juan Carlos I | Spain |
| 1981 | President Jose Lopez Portillo | Mexico |
| 1980 | President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing | France |
| 1979 | Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser | Australia |
| 1978 | President Patrick Hillery | Ireland |
| 1977 | First Secretary Edward Gierek | Poland |
| 1976 | Prime Minister Jacques Chirac | France |
| 1975 | President Kenneth Kaunda | Zambia |
| 1974 | President Josip Broz Tito and Prime Minister Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike Yugoslavia | Sri Lanka |
| 1973 | President Mobutu Sese Seko | Zaire |
| 1972 | Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | Mauritius |
| 1971 | President Julius Nyerere | Tanzania |
| 1970 | King of the Belgians Baudouin | Belgium |
| 1969 | Prime Minister of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov | Bulgaria |
| 1968 | Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin and President Josip Broz Tito | Soviet Union Yugoslavia |
| 1967 | King Mohammed Zahir Shah | Afghanistan |
| 1966 | No invitation | - |
| 1965 | Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hamid | Pakistan |
| 1964 | Chief of Defense Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten | United Kingdom |
| 1963 | King Norodom Sihanouk | Cambodia |
| 1962 | Prime Minister Viggo Kampmann | Denmark |
| 1961 | Queen Elizabeth II | United Kingdom |
| 1960 | President Kliment Voroshilov | Soviet Union |
| 1959 | Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip | United Kingdom |
| 1958 | Marshall Ye Jianying | People’s Republic of China |
| 1957 | Minister of Defense Georgy Zhukov | Soviet Union |
| 1956 | Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler | United Kingdom |
| Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka | Japan | |
| 1955 | Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad (first guest for parade at Rajpath) | Pakistan |
| 1954 | King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1953 | No invitation | – |
| 1952 | No invitation | – |
| 1951 | King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah | Nepal |
| 1950 | President Sukarno | Indonesia |