6th leader of UK, Boris Johnson will be the chief guest of the forthcoming Republic Day Parade. What's the procedure for selecting the chief guest of Republic Day ?

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab made the announcement after meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday (December 15).

The last chief guest from UK at republic day parade was John major  1993.

Members of the British royal family have been Chief Guests at past Republic Day parades :

• Prince Philip in 1959.
• Queen Elizabeth II in 1961.
• Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rap Butler(1956, along with Japan’s former Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka).
• Chief of Defence Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten(1964).

Why the invitation for Republic Day a special honour?

 While the visit of the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade is similar to a State visit by any foreign high dignitary, given the ceremony involved, it is the highest honour that India accords to a guest in protocol terms.

The Chief Guest is 

• Given the ceremonial guard of honour at RashtrapatiBhavan.
• He attends the reception in the evening hosted by the President of India.
• He lays a wreath at Rajghat, there is a banquet in his honour,a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister. 
• Calls by the Vice-President and the External Affairs Minister.

According to Ambassador Manbir Singh, a former Indian Foreign Service officer who served as Chief of Protocol between 1999 and 2002, the visit of the Chief Guest is full of symbolism —“it portrays the Chief Guest as participating in India’s pride and happiness, and reflects the friendship between the two peoples represented by the President of India and the Chief Guest”.

What's the procedure for selection of chief guest ??

Process Starts 6 months ago in the MEA 

• The government extends its invitation to a Head of State or Government after careful consideration.
• This process commences almost six months ahead of Republic Day.
• The (MEA) considers a number of issues, the most important of which is the nature of India’s relationship with the country concerned.
• Other factors include political, economic, and commercial relations, the neighbourhood, military cooperation, prominence in regional groupings, or past association in the Non Aligned Movement.
• India’s emotional attachment with the NAM countries remains strong, even as developmental imperatives such as trade, technical knowhow and financial cooperation have opened up new vistas and opportunities for closer relations with other countries.
• All these considerations often point in different directions — and choosing a Chief Guest, therefore, often poses a challenge.
• After MEA, it goes to PM and then to Press.
• All aspects of the visit are gone through, such as security, logistics, medical requirements, if necessary, with the active cooperation of the concerned Departments of the Government of India and the governments of the states which the Chief Guest may visit before coming to New Delhi, or after Republic Day.

Various Chief Guests and their Ambassadors in New Delhi have been profuse in their praise for India’s ceremonies and the protocol it accords. India’s hospitality reflects its traditions, culture, and history.