History & Development <IBA / ILETA>

First Director General– Lucien Victor Ott
Second Director General – James Shortt
Third Director General– Massimiliano Fiorentini (also known as Max Fiorentini)

The International Bodyguard Association (IBA) was founded in 1957 in Paris, France. Since its establishment, the IBA has positioned itself as one of the world’s leading executive protection training organizations. It has played a pioneering role in protection education across key regions worldwide, including the Baltic and Balkan emerging republics, European Union (EU) security sectors, the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa, Afghanistan, and across Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.

In 2004, beyond its regular training curricula, the IBA conducted specialized training programs for the Iraqi Police, Cambodian Police, selected units of the U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Group, United Nations security protection officers, and protection and driving personnel of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This was followed by advanced training for national and special units, including the Royal Thai Police, the Royal Thai Navy SEALs, and the Royal Thai Army Special Forces (Task Force 90).

In 2005, at the request of the Mongolian government, the IBA delivered training programs for Mongolian Special Forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Special Security Agency, and Police SWAT units. In the United Kingdom, IBA graduates completed the first training programs leading to the newly established national qualification, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) Close Protection (CP) license. The IBA collaborated with New College Swindon and the Protector Network to deliver these courses.

Through partnership with Righttrack, the IBA also operated the BTEC Level 3 Close Protection program. When the Close Protection Operative (CPO) license became a legal requirement in the UK from March 2006, IBA trainees achieved a 100% pass rate, further solidifying the Association’s standing as a benchmark institution in professional protection training.

The International Bodyguard Association (IBA) may, upon special request, conduct SIA-registered Close Protection (CP) courses outside the United Kingdom. Its graduates have successfully carried out high-risk PSD (Personal Security Detail) and CP missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia. In 2006, the IBA trained the first Homeland Security Platoon in the United States; prior to that, it provided training to the Armed Forces of Malta, 1st Regiment “C” Company (Special Duties), as well as to Maltese police units.

The IBA Headquarters has delivered training and advisory support to the UK Cabinet Office security teams and, in 2010, conducted protection training for national police protection units in Ankara, Turkey. Former President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko awarded the IBA Director General a Presidential Commendation under Decree No. 698/2006, recognizing the Association’s contributions to training government protection units and counter-terrorism teams following Ukraine’s independence. The Director General has received similar honors from Baltic and Balkan states, as well as from various governments and religious institutions.

The current Third President, Massimiliano Fiorentini, continues to lead advanced training programs for government and military special units worldwide. Most notably, in the past year he successfully delivered advanced protection and security training for cadre personnel of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence, demonstrating that the IBA continues to uphold the highest levels of expertise and trust in the international security field.

Today, the IBA Headquarters’ Praetorian Camp in Italy has become a global center of excellence, attracting core personnel from private military companies, armed protection units, intelligence agencies, counter-terrorism forces, and private protection organizations worldwide. Operating in a Blacksite-style environment, the facility ensures absolute security and strict confidentiality, enabling elite professionals to undertake mission-critical classified training.

In particular, the IBA and the International Law Enforcement Training Association (ILETA) have served as the foundation and progenitor for the majority of public protection agencies, private security organizations, law-enforcement bodies, counter-terrorism units, and protection groups worldwide, establishing the core framework of modern security and protection training systems.



The IBA’s reputation is the culmination of more than six decades of achievement in protection skills education. To commemorate these accomplishments, a grand 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner was held on December 14, 2007, at Dublin Castle. Looking ahead, the 70th Anniversary celebration is scheduled to take place in Italy in 2027, where the global community will come together to honor the IBA’s history, traditions, and worldwide network.

ILETA – International Law Enforcement Training Association

ILETA was established in 1976 as a police defensive tactics research group under the Combat Training Team of the then Royal Marines Special Command, based in Deal, Kent, United Kingdom. In 1982, following the appointment of Lucien Ott as President, the organization was restructured as an international law enforcement training association.

The organization’s initial purpose was to disseminate the “Défense et Sécurité” defensive tactics system developed by Lucien Ott to government, police, military, and private security professionals.
Between 1976 and 1985, ILETA provided training in police defensive tactics, arrest and control techniques, and impact weapon usage to officers from multiple UK police authorities, including the Metropolitan Police and the Norfolk, Suffolk, Sussex, Devon & Cornwall, and West Yorkshire police forces.

During the same period, police special operators from the Belgian Gendarmerie (now the Federal Police), including members of the Brigade Anti-Banditisme operating in the Liège region, as well as officers from more than 20 regional and specialized police units, were trained.
In 1980, as part of a “peacekeeping operation,” SWAT teams from major U.S. military bases were trained at RAF Alconbury.
Security Police units at RAF Lakenheath also completed police defensive tactics training until the base was closed.