Chief Guests Invited in Indian Republic Day Celebrations
The Republic Day in India is celebrated to remember the transition of India into a republic nation and the implementation of the Constitution of India on 26th January, 1950. A grand event is organized in the capital of New Delhi, wherein the President hoists and unfurls the Indian flag, which is followed by a massive parade. India welcomes a different chief guest every year to witness its Republic Day celebrations. The honourable chief guest is the head of state or government of another country. The guest is chosen on the basis of certain factors, be it, strategic, diplomatic, business interest or international politics.
In this year, India welcomes the France President, Francois Hollande, as a chief guest at the 67th Indian Republic Day 2016.
Following is the list of all Chief guest invited to attend Republic Day Parade of India (26th January) since 1950 to 2016:
| Year |
Name of the Guest |
Country |
| 2016 | President, Francois Hollande | France |
| 2015 | President, Barack Obama
(First U.S. President to be invited) |
USA |
| 2014 | Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe | Japan |
| 2013 | King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2012 | Prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra | Thailand |
| 2011 | President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono | Indonesia |
| 2010 | President, Lee Myung Bak | Republic of 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 | Yugoslavia |
| Prime Minister, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka | |
| 1973 | President, Mobutu Sese Seko | Zaire |
| 1972 | Prime Minister, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | Mauritius |
| 1971 | President, Julius Nyerere | Tanzania |
| 1969 | Prime Minister, Todor Zhivkov | Bulgaria |
| 1968 | Prime Minister, Alexei Kosygin | Soviet Union |
| President, Josip Broz Tito | Yugoslavia | |
| 1965 | Food and Agriculture Minister, Rana Abdul Hamid | Pakistan |
| 1963 | King, Norodom Sihanouk | Cambodia |
| 1961 | Queen, Elizabeth II | United Kingdom |
| 1960 | President, Kliment Voroshilov | Soviet Union |
| 1958 | Marshall Ye Jianying | People’s Republic of China |
| 1955 | Governor General, Malik Ghulam Muhammad
(First guest for parade at Rajpath) |
Pakistan |
| 1954 | King, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1950 | President, Sukarno | Indonesia |
