List of all Chief Guests on Indian Republic Day Parades (1950–2021) PDF
Ministry of External Affairs announced on January 14, 2021 that there will be no foreign leader as a chief guest for the celebrations of Republic Day this year because of the global situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be for the first time in over five decades that the country will not have a Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade.
Some Important and Interesting Facts about Republic Day of India
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was supposed to be the Chief Guest at the 2021 Republic Day. The UK Foreign Office released a statement that the decision to cancel the visit was taken in view of the COVID-19 pandemic that has escalated in the United Kingdom because of the new strain of the coronavirus.
Initial four Republic day parades were held at different places (Red Fort, Ramlila Grounds, Irwin Stadium, Kingsway) between 1950 to 1954. But the first celebration was held at Rajpath in 1955.
The 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 the chief guest is chosen in India’s Republic Day?
The Chief Guest is given the ceremonial guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan, he attends the reception in the evening hosted by the President of India, he lays a wreath at Rajghat, there is a banquet in his honour, a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister, and calls by the Vice-President and the External Affairs Minister.
Six months prior to Republic Day, the Indian Government sends the invitation to either the Head of State or the foreign Government subjected 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 the clearance from the President of India.
| 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 (Two Guests) | 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 (Two Guests) | 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 (Two Guests) | 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 (Ten Guests) | 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 (No Chief Guest) | Prime Minister Boris Johnson (cancelled his visit) | United Kingdom |