Chief guest on Republic Day! in India from 1950 to 2015. Countries invited as chief guests for the Republic Day parade. Erstwhile Yugoslavia (twice invited) has not been depicted in the map. 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 organized at different venues (like Irwin Stadium, Kingsway, Red Fort and Ramlila Grounds).[8] It was only starting 1955 when the parade in its present form was organized at Rajpath.[8] 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. In the post-Cold War era, India has also invited several Western leaders on a state visit during the Republic Day. It is notable that before India fought bloody wars with China and Pakistan, leaders from these countries were invited as state guests for the Republic Day celebrations. Interestingly, Pakistan Food and Agriculture Minister was the second state guest from that country for Republic Day in 1965, a few days after which the two countries went to a war. Countries which have been invited multiple times include Indias neighbours (Bhutan, and Sri Lanka), defence allies (Russia/USSR, France and Britain), trade partners (Brazil) and NAM allies (Nigeria and erstwhile Yugoslavia). Bhutan and France have the distinction of being the guest of honour for the maximum (four) number of times followed by three visits each from Mauritius and USSR/Russia. Year Guest Name Country Note 1950 President Sukarno Indonesia 1951 — 1952 — 1953 — 1954 King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Bhutan 1955 Governor General Malik Muhammad(Pakistan First guest for parade at Rajpath 1956 — 1957 — 1958 Marshall Ye Jianying China 1959 — 1960 President Kliment Voroshilov Soviet Union 1961 Queen Elizabeth II United Kingdom 1962 — 1963 King Norodom Sihanouk Cambodia 1964 — 1965 Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hamid Pakistan 2nd invitation 1966 — 1967 — 1968 Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin Soviet Union 2nd invitation President Josip Broz Tito Yugoslavia 1969 Prime Minister Todor Zhivkov Bulgaria 1970 — 1971 President Julius Nyerere Tanzania 1972 Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Mauritius 1973 President Mobutu Sese Seko Zaire 1974 President Josip Broz Tito Yugoslavia 2nd invitation Prime Minister Sirimavo 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 dEstaing France 1981 President Jose Lopez Portillo Mexico 1982 King Juan Carlos I Spain 1983 President Shehu Shagari Nigeria 1984 King Jigme Singye Wangchuck Bhutan 2nd invitation 1985 President Raúl Alfonsín Argentina 1986 Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou Greece 1987 President Alan Garcia Peru 1988 President Junius Jayewardene Sri Lanka 2nd invitation 1989 General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh Vietnam 1990 Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth Mauritius 2nd invitation 1991 President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maldives 1992 President Mário Soares Portugal 1993 Prime Minister John Major United Kingdom 2nd invitation 1994 Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong Singapore 1995 President Nelson Mandela South Africa 1996 President Fernando Henrique Cardoso Brazil 1997 Prime Minister Basdeo Panday Trinidad and Tobago 1998 President Jacques Chirac France 3rd invitation 1999 King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev Nepal 2000 President Olusegun Obasanjo Nigeria 2nd invitation 2001 President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Algeria 2002 President Cassam Uteem Mauritius 3rd invitation 2003 President Mohammed Khatami Iran 2004 President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Brazil 2nd invitation 2005 King Jigme Singye Wangchuck Bhutan 3rd invitation 2006 King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Saudi Arabia 2007 President Vladimir Putin Russia 3rd invitation 2008 President Nicolas Sarkozy France 4th invitation 2009 President Nursultan Nazarbayev Kazakhstan 2010 President Lee Myung Bak South Korea 2011 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Indonesia 2nd invitation 2012 Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Thailand 2013 King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Bhutan 4th invitation 2014 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Japan 2015 President Barack Obama United States First US President to be invited
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:45:09 +0000
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