Founded in Paris in December 1957 by Major Lucien Victor Ott, a much decorated French Para-commando veteran, the International Bodyguard Association is the oldest and largest bodyguard association, with sites of protective service and education worldwide. The IBA has established itself as the premier world training organization for Bodyguards. It has been at the forefront of Bodyguard education in the emerging Baltic and Balkan Republics, the European Union Security; in the new South Africa, in Afghanistan and throughout the new Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. During 2004, the IBA in addition to their regular courses trained classes of Iraqi Police, Cambodian Police, elements of the US Army's 1 st Special Forces Group, Bodyguards for United Nations Security, Bodyguards and Drivers for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 2005, IBA training was provided to the Thai National Police and Royal Thai Navy SEALS. Last year, the Mongolian Government organized an IBA course for their Special Forces, Central Intelligence Agency and the State Special Security Agency and Police SWAT unit. In the UK, IBA graduates were among the first to complete their training for the new state SIA CP licence. Last year IBA graduates successfully and safely completed high risk PSD and CP missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South East Asia.
