- India
- Jan 16
European Council, European Commission presidents to be Republic Day chief guests
• European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be the chief guests for the 77th Republic Day celebrations.
• During the visit, the leaders will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27.
• They will hold delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• An India-EU Business Forum is also expected to be organised on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit.
• Every year, India invites world leaders to attend its Republic Day celebrations.
Who is Antonio Costa?
• Antonio Costa was born in Lisbon on July 17, 1961.
• He is nicknamed “Gandhi of Lisbon”.
• He has his roots in Goa where his grandfather was born and his father spent most of his life.
• In 2017, he was presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India. He also holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
• He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1991 and made his debut in Government as Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1995. He was appointed Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in 1997, holding direct responsibilities for the organisation of the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition.
• He became a Member of the European Parliament in June 2004. He was elected vice-president of the European Parliament.
• Costa was elected as Lisbon mayor in 2007.
• He became Prime Minister in November 2015 and was reappointed in October 2019.
• On June 27, 2024, EU leaders elected Antonio Costa as President of the European Council. He took office on December 1, 2024.
Who is Ursula von der Leyen?
• Ursula von der Leyen, born in 1958, was a member of the German Bundestag from 2009 to 2019 and a Federal Minister in Germany for more than 14 years, responsible for Family Affairs (2005-2009), then for Labour and Social Affairs (2009-2013) and later for Defence (2013-2019).
• She completed her medical studies with a state examination and licence to practise medicine in 1987, followed by a doctorate in 1991 and a Master of Public Health in 2001.
• She has been a member of Christian Democratic Union (CDU since 1990. From 2003 to 2005, she was a member of the CDU Parliamentary Group in the Lower Saxony State Parliament.
• She was the first woman to become President of the European Commission in 2019.
• Ursula von der Leyen was elected for a second mandate by the European Parliament in July 2024, and will lead the Commission until the European elections in 2029.
Chief guests in previous years:
• Leaders of friendly nations have graced the Republic Day celebrations since 1950, when the then Indonesian President Sukarno was invited as the chief guest.
• In 1952, 1953 and 1966, the Republic Day celebrations were held without a foreign leader as chief guest.
• Former US President Barack Obama (2015), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2007), former French Presidents Nicholas Sarkozy (2008) and Francois Hollande (2016) have also been chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations in the past.
• In 2018, the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leadership comprising 10 heads of State was present at the Republic Day parade.
• In 2020, the then Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest.
• There was no Republic Day Chief guest in 2021 and 2022 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi graced the occasion in 2023.
• In 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron was the chief guest.
• In 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest for the Republic Day celebration.
• The Heads of State and government who have attended the Republic Day celebrations include Nicolas Sarkozy, Vladimir Putin, Nelson Mandela, John Major, Mohammed Khatami and Jacques Chirac.
• Other world leaders who have attended the celebration include Nepal’s King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, who came here in 1999, Iran’s then President Mohammed Khatami in 2003, then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2011, and President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 1991.