Republic Day 2023: List of all Chief Guests on Delhi Republic Day Parades (1950–2023)
Chief Guests at Delhi Republic Day Parade 2023: This year Republic Day will be celebrated on Wednesday. Every year, it is celebrated with the armed forces holding a parade in honour of the day. This is the day when our Consitution came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a democratic republic.
The sources in the Defence establishments said in 2020 that before the pandemic broke out in India, around 1.25 lakh people were permitted to attend the parade.
The GoI (Government of India) has chosen to reserve the front row for special official invitees this year, in 2023, though. The front row will be occupied by the Shramjeevis and their families, Kartavya Path maintenance workers, and other neighbourhood residents like rickshaw pullers and vegetable vendors.
This year's Republic Day festivities will focus on the "participation of the common people."
READ| Journey of the National Flag of India
India as an independent, sovereign, and democratic country implemented its constitution on 26 January 1950. Since then, India being the Democratic Republic celebrates a grand ceremony every year to commemorate Republic Day, and a Foreign Leader is invited every year by the Indian Government.
The initial four Republic day parades were held at different places (Red Fort, Ramlila Grounds, Irwin Stadium, Kingsway) between 1950 to 1954. However, in 1955, Rajpath was chosen as the permanent venue for Republic Day celebrations.
On 26 January 1950, Indonesian President Sukarno was the first Chief guest on the very first Republic Day parade of India. Representatives from the United Kingdom and France have been invited 5 times each.
How is Chief Guest chosen for India's Republic Day?
The Chief Guest at India's Republic Day parade is accorded the country's highest honour in protocol terms but do you know how the Republic Day Chief Guest is chosen?
Six months prior to Republic Day, the Indian Government sends the invitation to either the Head of State or the Government subject to the kind of relationship India has with the concerned country.
Before sending the invitation, the approval of the Indian Prime Minister is sought in addition to clearance from the President of India.
Let’s have a look at the list of all the Chief Guests at the Republic Day Parade(1950-2023)
| Year |
Guest Name |
Country |
| 1950 |
President Sukarno |
Indonesia |
| 1951 |
King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah |
Nepal |
| 1952 |
No invitation |
--- |
| 1953 |
No invitation |
--- |
| 1954 |
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck |
Bhutan |
| 1955 |
Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad |
Pakistan |
| 1956 |
Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler
Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka |
United Kingdom Japan |
| 1957 |
Minister of Defence Georgy Zhukov |
Soviet Union |
| 1958 |
Marshall Ye Jianying |
China |
| 1959 |
Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip |
United Kingdom |
| 1960 |
President Kliment Voroshilov |
USSR |
| 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 |
Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin |
USSR |
| President Josip Broz Tito |
SFR Yugoslavia |
|
| 1969 |
Prime Minister of Bulgaria 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 |
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 |
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 García |
Peru |
| 1988 |
President Junius Jayewardene |
Sri Lanka |
| 1989 |
General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh |
Viet Nam |
| 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 |
Republic of Korea |
| 2011 |
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
Indonesia |
| 2012 |
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra |
Thailand |
| 2013 |
King of Bhutan 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 |
United Arab Emirates |
| 2018 |
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Joko Widodo Thongloun Sisoulith Prime Minister Hun Sen Najib Razak President Htin Kyaw Rodrigo Roa Duterte Halimah Yacob Prayuth Chan-ocha Nguyễn Xuân Phúc |
Brunei Indonesia Laos Cambodia Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam |
| 2019 |
President Cyril Ramaphosa |
South Africa |
| 2020 |
President Jair Bolsonaro |
Brazil |
| 2021 |
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (cancelled his visit) |
United Kingdom |
| 2022 |
- |
- |
| 2023 |
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi |
Egypt |
The main purpose of inviting a Foreign Leader is to boost bilateral relations and to show the diversity and prosperity of the Indian culture. To read more articles related to the topic, click on the links given below:
| Republic Day of India 2023: Chief Guest, Parade facts, Objectives, Celebrations | 13 Interesting Facts about Republic Day Parade |
