Indian government invites a foreign leader every year on the occasion of Republic day parade. This year Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest of republic day parade 2020. Pakistan’s Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad was the first person who attended the Republic day parade as the chief guest at Rajpath, New Delhi.

Republic day Parade celebration
India an independent, sovereign and democratic country implemented its constitution on 26 January 1950. Now India is a democratic Republic that celebrates a grand ceremony on the 26 January every year to commemorate the day.
The 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.
Let’s have a look on the list of all the Chief Guests at Republic day parade;
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. ButlerChief Justice Kotaro Tanaka | United KingdomJapan |
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 | Brune iIndonesia Laos Cambodia Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam |
2019 | President Cyril Ramaphosa | South Africa |
2020 | President Jair Bolsonaro | Brazil |
The main purpose of inviting a foreign leader is to boost the bilateral relations and to show the diversity and prosperity of the Indian culture.