Editing Bodyguard

{{Short description|Security person or persons assigned to protect an individual}}
{{About||other uses|Bodyguard (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Executive protection|the film|Executive Protection (film)}}
{{Distinguish|lifeguard}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2010}}
{{Infobox Occupation
| name= Bodyguard
| image= President Ronald Reagan moments before he was shot in an assassination attempt 1981.jpg
| caption= Bodyguards with President [[Ronald Reagan]] moments before he was [[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|shot and almost killed in late 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= 
| employment_field= 
| related_occupation= [[Security guard]], [[law enforcement officer]], [[terrorism|anti-terrorism specialist]], [[intelligence officer]]
}}
A '''bodyguard''' (or '''close protection officer/operative''') is a type of [[security guard]], government [[law enforcement]] officer, or servicemember who protects an [[very important person|important person or group of people]], such as high-ranking public officials, wealthy businesspeople, and celebrities, from harm. The personnel team that protects a VIP is often referred to as the VIP's [[security detail]].

Most important public figures, such as [[head of state|heads of state]], [[head of government|heads of government]], and [[governor]]s are protected by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or [[police]] forces. Less-important public figures, or those with lower risk profiles, may be accompanied by a single bodyguard who doubles as a [[Chauffeur|driver]].
Bodyguards have existed since ancient civilizations, with notable examples including the Roman [[Praetorian Guard]], [[Persian Immortals]], and the [[Janissaries]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. These roles have evolved into modern [[executive protection]] professionals, equipped with advanced technologies and training.

==Etymology==
The term 'bodyguard' originates from the combination of 'body,' referring to the individual being protected, and 'guard,' signifying protection. While the term first appeared in English in the early 18th century, the concept predates the word by millennia.

==Roles==
[[File:United States President Barack Obama with Senator Sherrod Brown, Representative Mary Jo Kilroy, and Secret Service personnel arriving at Port Columbus International Airport.jpg|thumb|right|[[United States Secret Service|U.S. Secret Service]] agents guarding U.S. President [[Barack Obama]]]]
[[File:DD-SD-00-00152.JPEG|thumb|right|[[Walter B. Slocombe]], the U.S. [[Under Secretary of Defense for Policy]], with his bodyguard in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] in 1996. The bodyguard is armed with an [[M16 rifle]].]]
[[File:Posse Dilma 2010 5.jpg|thumb|right|A team of bodyguards protecting Brazilian President [[Dilma Rousseff]] during [[First inauguration of Dilma Rousseff|her inaugural ceremony]].]]
[[File:Merkel Bodyguards 2013.JPG|thumb|[[Angela Merkel]], the [[Chancellor of Germany]], with her bodyguards.]]
[[File:Quanell X bodyguards.jpg|thumb|[[Quanell X]] (center), the leader of the [[New Black Panther Party]], with his bodyguards.]]
[[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.]]
[[File:Personenschuetzer.jpg|thumb|right|170px|A bodyguard wearing an earpiece for two-way radio, so he can receive instructions.]]
[[File:Portrait_of_the_Imperial_Bodyguard_Zhanyinbao.jpg|right|thumb|18th century [[Manchu people|Manchu]] [[Imperial Guards Brigade|Imperial Guard]] of the [[Qianlong Emperor]].]]
[[File:Cossaks Imperator Bodyguard.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Cossacks]] Imperator Bodyguard unit from the early 1900s.]]
[[File:Kuniyoshi Imperial Bodyguard Fighting with a Demon.jpg|right|thumb|Illustration of Japanese Imperial bodyguard [[Watanabe no Tsuna]] fighting a demon.]]
The work of a bodyguard consists mainly of planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings where the client will be visiting, researching the backgrounds of people that will have contact with the client, searching vehicles, and 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> In the event of an emergency, a bodyguard's priority will always be to evacuate their client, rather than engage with threats.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Turk |first=Victoria |title=How realistic is Bodyguard? A real Personal Protection Officer tells all |url=https://www.wired.com/story/bodyguard-finale-realism/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of bodyguards]]
* [[List of protective service agencies]]
* [[Private investigator]]
* [[Private military company]]
* [[Secret service]]
* [[Security detail]]
* [[Security police]]—persons who guard government property.
* [[Royal guard]]s
* [[Republican guard]]
* [[Witness protection]]
* [[Counterterrorism]]
* Tactics and skills
** [[Counter-sniper tactics]]
** [[Close-quarters combat]]
** [[Threat assessment]]
** [[Unarmed combat]]
* [[Security company]]
* Regulation of private security guards
** [[:fr:Conseil national des activités privées de sécurité]] (French regulator)
** [[Security Industry Authority]] (UK regulator)
* Particular units or kinds
** [[Housecarls]] (medieval Scandinavia and [[Anglo-Saxon England]])
** [[Antrustion]], the bodyguards of the Merovingian kings
** [[Praetorian Guard]], the bodyguards of the Roman Emperors
** [[Rynda]], ceremonial bodyguard of early Russian tsars
** [[Somatophylakes]], the Macedonian bodyguard of [[Alexander the Great]]
** [[Spatharios]], the bodyguard of [[Byzantine emperors]]
** [[Yojimbo (film)|Yojimbo]], the Japanese word for ''bodyguard''
** [[Pontifical Swiss Guard]]
** United Kingdom
*** [[Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department]] of the [[Metropolitan Police]] 
*** [[Sovereign's Bodyguard]]
**United States
*** [[Bureau of Diplomatic Security]] of the [[United States Department of State]]
*** [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]]
**India
*** [[National Security Guards]] (NSG) of the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)]], responsible for protecting the [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] 
*** [[Special Protection Group]] (SPG), a specialized unit created after the [[Indira Gandhi assassination]] in 1984
*** [[President's Bodyguard]]s, a mechanized regiment of the Indian Army that is the ceremonial bodyguard of the [[President of India]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Bodyguards}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Protective service occupations]]
[[Category:Bodyguards| ]]
[[Category:Law enforcement occupations]]
[[Category:Military personnel]]
[[Category:Security guards]]