Republic Day 2024: A look at the chief guests since 2015
French president Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on 26 January, marking the sixth time a French president will attend the event. Let us look at the others.
In 2015, then-US president Barack Obama with First Lady Michelle Obama became the first US president to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.
2015 - US president Barack Obama
France’s Francois Hollande was the chief guest for the 2016 Republic Day parade. This was the fifth time France was invited to be the guest country.
2016 – French president Francois Hollande
In 2017, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. India celebrates its 68th Republic Day this year.
2017 - Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
In 2018, 10 heads of States of ASEAN nations, accompanied by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were chief guests at Rajpath.
2018 - Heads of ASEAN nations
In 2019, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of India's old ally South Africa, became the second president of South Africa after Nelson Mandela to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
2019 – South African president Cyril Ramaphosa
2020 - Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro
In 2020, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest at India’s 71st Republic Day parade. He was the third Brazilian president to be invited as Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day parade.
Due to COVID restrictions, there were no chief guests in 2021 and 2022.
2021, 2022 – No chief guest
This was the first time that the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, was invited as the chief guest to India's Republic Day celebrations.
2023 – Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
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