Who is Republic Day 2025 chief guest? From Shinzo Abe to Emmanuel Macron, a look at India's chief guests in last 10 yrs

As India is set to celebrate its 76th Republic Day on Sunday, January 26, as many as 10,000 special guests from different walks of life will attend the parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the Chief Guest for India’s 76th National Republic Day function.

President Subianto is on a state visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is Prabowo's first visit to India since assuming office in October 2024.

Special focus on 75 years, Constitution and Jan Bhagidari

According to an official statement, President Droupadi Murmu will lead the nation in celebrating the 76th Republic Day from Kartavya Path.

“With special focus on 75 years of enactment of the Constitution and Jan Bhagidari, the celebrations this year will be a unique blend of India’s rich cultural diversity, unity, equality, development and military prowess,” said the statement.

The Republic Day ceremony will see 31 Tableaux roll down at Kartavya Path on the theme ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’ and a cultural performance by 5,000 artists.

What To Look Forward to at Republic Day Parade

The Republic Day parade will start at 10.30 am and run for a duration of approximately 90 minutes.

The “Special Guests from different walks of life are the architects of ‘Swarnim Bharat’. They include best performers in various fields and those who have made best use of the schemes of the government,” said the statement.

The President of India and her Indonesian counterpart will arrive in the ‘traditional buggy’, escorted by the president’s bodyguard, the senior most regiment of the Indian Army.

“Kartavya Path will be witness to a march past by the Marching Contingent of Indonesian National Armed Forces and Military Band of Indonesia’s Military Academy. The marching contingent will consist of 152 members, with 190 members in the military band,” said the statement.

Earlier on Saturday, Subianto held discussions with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on India's rich parliamentary system and appreciated the architecture of the Parliament House.

On this occasion, Birla presented Prabowo Subianto with a copy of the Constitution of India and a replica of the Parliament House.

List of Republic Day Chief Guests in the last 10 years 

2014 – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 

2015 - United States President Barack Obama  

2016 France President François Hollande 

2017- The United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed  

2018- Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesia’s Joko Widodo, Laos’ Thongloun Sisoulith, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, Malaysia’s Najib Razak, Myanmar President Htin Kyaw, Philippines’ Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Singapore’s Halimah Yacob, Thailand’s Prayuth Chan-ocha, and Vietnam’s Nguyen Xuân Phúc 

2019- South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa  

2020 – Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro  

2021 and 2022 – No Republic Day chief guests due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

2023 – Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi 

2024- France President Emmanuel Macron