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| caption= Bodyguards with President [[Ronald Reagan]] moments before he was [[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|shot in March 1981]]
| official_names= Close protection officer, executive protection agent, personal protection specialist
| type= [[government|Government employment]] or [[private sector|private employment]]
| activity_sector= [[Law enforcement]], [[Government]], [[Military]], [[Security]]
| competencies=
| formation= Background in security, [[Law enforcement agency|law enforcement]], [[armed forces]], [[Security Industry Authority]], [[driver's license]]
| employment_field= Near [[VIP]]s
| related_occupation= [[Security guard]], [[law enforcement officer]], [[terrorism|anti-terrorism specialist]], [[intelligence officer]], [[special operations|military special operations]], [[private investigator]]
}}
A '''bodyguard''' (or '''close protection officer/operative''') is a type of [[security guard]], government [[law enforcement]] officer, or
Most important public figures, such as [[head of state|heads of state]], [[head of government|heads of government]], and [[governor]]s are protected by several bodyguards or by a team of bodyguards from a
A number of high-profile
==Roles==
===Popular misconceptions===
The role of bodyguards is often misunderstood by the public, because the typical layperson's only exposure to body-guarding is usually in heavily dramatized [[action film]] depictions of the profession, such as the 2018 British TV series ''[[Bodyguard (British TV series)|Bodyguard]]'', in which bodyguards are depicted in [[Shootout|firefights]] with attackers. In contrast to the exciting lifestyle depicted on the film screen, the role of a real-life bodyguard is much more mundane;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intelligent-protection.com/bbc-series-bodyguard.html|title=The BBC Series: Bodyguard – Fact from Fiction|access-date=13 July 2019}}</ref>
▲The role of bodyguards is often misunderstood by the public, because the typical layperson's only exposure to body-guarding is usually in heavily dramatized [[action film]] depictions of the profession, such as the 2018 British TV series ''[[Bodyguard (British TV series)|Bodyguard]]'', in which bodyguards are depicted in [[Shootout|firefights]] with attackers. In contrast to the exciting lifestyle depicted on the film screen, the role of a real-life bodyguard is much more mundane;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intelligent-protection.com/bbc-series-bodyguard.html|title=The BBC Series: Bodyguard – Fact from Fiction|access-date=13 July 2019}}</ref> it consists mainly of planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings where the client will be visiting, researching the background of people that will have contact with the client, searching vehicles, and attentively escorting the client on their day-to-day activities.<ref>{{cite news|title= What's it like being a bodyguard? |work= [[BBC]]|date=April 4, 2011|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12955985|access-date=2011-04-04}}</ref>
===Breakdown of responsibilities===
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Bodyguards need to be observant, and retain their focus on their job, despite distractions such as [[fatigue (medical)|fatigue]]. As well, they need to be able to work as member of a team, with assigned tasks, or be able to act independently, and adapt and improvise an appropriate response if the need arises. Bodyguards need to be able to recognize potentially dangerous situations and remain calm under pressure. A bodyguard has to have a strong dedication to their protective role. Since bodyguards often have to collaborate or coordinate their protection with other security forces, such as local police and other private security guards, bodyguards need good interpersonal and communications skills. Since bodyguards accompany their clients throughout their day, the bodyguard will be privy to the private life of the client, which means that a bodyguard has to show discretion and maintain [[confidentiality]].
===
[[File:Close Protection Unite Croatian MP 12.JPG|thumb|right|A [[Croatia]]n close protection unit trains using [[sub-machine gun]]s and [[pistol]]s during a demonstration exercise.]]
Bodyguards often have training in firearms tactics, [[unarmed combat]], tactical [[driving]], and [[first aid]]. In multi-agent units (like those protecting a [[head of state]]) one or more bodyguards may have training in specific tasks, such as providing a protective escort, [[crowd control|crowd screening and control]], or searching for explosives or electronic surveillance devices ("bugs"). Bodyguards also learn how to work with other security personnel to conduct threat or [[risk]] assessment and analyze [[vulnerability|potential security weaknesses]].
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The military forces in many countries offer close protection training for the members of their own armed forces who have been selected to work as bodyguards to officers or heads of state (e.g., the British RMP – Royal Military Police, Close Protection Unit). In the private sector, there are a vast number of private bodyguard training companies, which offer training in all aspects of close protection relative to their local laws and threat level, including the legal aspects of physical protection (e.g., use of force, use of deadly force), how to escort clients, driving drills, searching facilities and vehicles, etc.
In the United Kingdom, the industry is highly regulated by the [[Security Industry Authority]] and requires an individual to obtain a level 3 vocational close protection qualification and pass an enhanced criminal record background check in addition to attending a recognized first-aid course prior to a license being issued. Most UK security firms will request that operatives hold an SIA license, even if operations are conducted outside of the UK. The SIA model has been adopted and modified by nearby countries Ireland and [[France]]. In France bodyguards require a CNAPS ([https://www.cnaps-securite.fr/ Conséil National des Activitées Privée de Sécurité]) license to operate legally as a bodyguard. Both the SIA and CNAPS have come under heavy criticism over the years for failing to assist license holders and meet their primary objectives of "raising the standards" in the private security industry.
In other countries with no specific regulations, training providers are allowed to shape their programs according to their needs. Heavy focus on physical training and shooting, neglecting intelligence and the strategic part of the job for marketing reasons, has been recently criticized as useless and called "bodyguard amusement tourism" by the International Association of Personal Protection Agents (IAPPA).<ref>Is Bodyguard Training Amusement Tourism? (August 6, 2020). Available at https://www.iappa.online/post/is-bodyguard-training-amusement-tourism. Retrieved August 14, 2020.</ref>
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[[File:Portrait_of_the_Imperial_Bodyguard_Zhanyinbao.jpg|right|thumb|18th century [[Manchu people|Manchu]] [[Imperial Guards Brigade|Imperial Guard]] of the [[Qianlong Emperor]].]]
In countries where the head of state is a military leader or dictator, the leader's bodyguards may also be part of an elite [[military unit]]. Such was the case with the [[Somatophylakes]] in [[Macedonian Empire|Macedon]], [[Schutzstaffel]] in [[Nazi Germany]], the former Iraqi [[Special Republican Guard]], or the [[Praetorian Guard]] in the [[Roman Empire]] and its later iteration as the [[Varangian Guard]] in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period, or the [[Housecarls]] of Scandinavia and then Anglo-Saxon England. The reputation of the Praetorian Guards is often seen to be one of intrigue and murder of many Emperors, causing it to be dissolved on orders of [[Constantine I]]. The Varangian Guard are more reputed for loyalty to the throne, owing to them being foreign mercenaries with fewer ties to Roman politics, aristocracy, and factions than Roman soldiers might otherwise have been but there were instances where the Varangians did not remain loyal to the Roman Emperor as they were expected to be, and were more so loyal to the position of emperor and not always the individual who held the throne.
The British monarch has at least three traditional bodyguard corps in service, known collectively as the [[Sovereign's Bodyguard]].
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[[File:Cossaks Imperator Bodyguard.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Cossacks]] Imperator Bodyguard unit from the early 1900s.]]
In the [[United States]], the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] safeguards the lives of the [[President of the United States|President]], his family, and other executive officials, including former presidents and vice-presidents, the latter for a limited time. Another agency, the [[State Department]]'s [[Bureau of Diplomatic Security]], is responsible for protecting U.S. missions and their personnel overseas, as well as selected dignitaries in the U.S., including the [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations|Ambassador to the United Nations]], the [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], and visiting foreign dignitaries other than [[Head of state|heads of state]]. While the Secret Service's close-protection role is its most visible, its historic role was as agents of the [[United States Treasury]] (although they are now agents of the [[Department of Homeland Security]]).
[[File:Gurkha bodyguard in Nangarhar.jpg|thumb|right| A [[Nepal]]ese [[Gurkha]] bodyguard in [[Nangarhar]]]]
In the UK during 1913–1914, the suffragette movement protested in an attempt to gain women the right to vote. After suffragette leaders were threatened, activists formed an all-female close protection unit to protect the leaders of the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] both from harassment by the general public and from arrest under the so-called [[Cat and Mouse Act]]. In the modern UK,
In [[Holy See|the Vatican]], [[the Pope]] and other senior [[Roman Curia|Vatican]] officials are protected by the [[Pontifical Swiss Guard]], [[Swiss mercenaries|Swiss mercenary]] soldiers who act as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards. After the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt on [[Pope John Paul II]] by [[Mehmet Ali Ağca]], the guards were given enhanced training in [[unarmed combat]] and firearm use. The pope's chief bodyguard is the Inspector General of the [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City]].
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===Films and television===
Bodyguards are also depicted in a number of films and television programs. In an episode of ''[[Star Trek:
Japanese director [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s film ''[[Yojimbo (movie)|Yojimbo]]'' depicts a samurai bodyguard in Japan. ''[[The Bodyguard (1992 film)|The Bodyguard]]'' (1992) is a film about a bodyguard who protects a celebrity singer. Gogo Yubari is O-Ren Ishii's bodyguard in the film ''[[Kill Bill: Volume 1]]''. In the science-fiction/fantasy ''[[Star Wars]]'' films, [[MagnaGuards]] are [[General Grievous]]' bodyguards. Being a bodyguard is also a duty performed on special occasions by the [[Jedi|Jedi Knights]]. In the film ''[[Lord of War]]'', the main character's brother protects him while he makes arms deals in war-torn countries.
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