Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind during a ceremonial reception at the Presidential House in New Delhi on Saturday. (Express photo/Praveen Khanna)
Republic Day 2020: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations taking place today. This will be the third occasion that a Brazilian leader will be the chief guest at the Republic Day. Former Presidents of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, had visited in 1996 and 2004, respectively.
So, How are India’s Republic Day chief guests chosen?
The Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade is accorded India’s highest honour in protocol terms. The process of extending the invitation to a Head of State or Government starts around six months ahead of Republic Day. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) considers several issues, most importantly the nature of India’s relationship with the country concerned.
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Next, the Prime Minister’s approval is sought, followed by a clearance from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. India’s ambassadors in the countries concerned then try to ascertain discreetly the potential chief guests’ programme and availability for Republic Day.
Apart from the main event of reviewing the Republic Day parade with the President of India, the Chief Guest’s visit includes the ceremonial guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan, an evening reception hosted by the President, laying of a wreath at Rajghat, a banquet in the Chief Guest’s honour, a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister, and calls by the Vice-President and the External Affairs Minister.
Chief guests at previous Republic Day celebrations
1950- President Sukarno, Indonesia
1951- King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, Nepal
1952 and 1953- No chief guest
1954- King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutan
1955- Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad, Pakistan
1956- Two guests
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rab Butler, United Kingdom
Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka, Japan
1957- Minister of Defence Georgy Zhukov, Soviet Union
1958- Marshall Ye Jianying, China
1959- Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, United Kingdom
1960- Chairman Kliment Voroshilov, Soviet Union
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 chief guest
1967- King Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghanistan
1968- Two guests
Chairman Alexei Kosygin, Soviet Union
President Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia
1969- Prime Minister Todor Zhivkov, Bulgaria
1970- King 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, Yugoslavia
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 d’Estaing, France
1981- President Jose Lopez 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 Garcia, Peru
1988- President J. R. Jayewardene, Sri Lanka
1989- General Secretary Nguy?n Van Linh, Vietnam
1990- Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritius
1991- President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Maldives
Convoy of US president Barack Obama arrives on Rajpath to attend Republic day celebrations in 2014. (Express photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi/Archives)
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 Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazil
1997- Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, Trinidad and Tobago
1998- President Jacques Chirac, France
1999- King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, Nepal
2000- President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria
2001- President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria
2002- President Cassam Uteem, Mauritius
2003- President Mohammed Khatami, Iran
2004- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil
2005-King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan
2006- King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Saudi Arabia
2007- President Vladimir Putin, Russia
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh with Russian president Vladimir Putin on his arrival at Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi on January 25, 2007. (Photo by Ravi Batra)
2008- President Nicolas Sarkozy, France
2009- President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan
2010- President Lee Myung Bak, South Korea
2011- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia
2012- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand
2013- King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutan
2014- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan
2015- President Barack Obama, United States
2016- President François Hollande, France
Republic Day celebrations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then French President Francois Hollande at the Republic Day function at Rajpath in New Delhi in 2016. (Express photo)
2017- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates
2018- Ten Chief Guests, Heads of ASEAN States
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei
Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia
President Joko Widodo, Indonesia
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Laos
Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysia
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar
President Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Thailand
Prime Minister Nguy?n Xuân Phúc, Vietnam
2019- President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
2020- President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil
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