Republican guard

A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic) which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous with a presidential guard. The term is derived from the original French Gendarmerie unit. Several other countries also have adopted the term and have active guard units.

The French Republican Guard.

Active republican guard units

• Albanian Republican Guard
• Algerian Republican Guard
• Central African Republican Guard — Made up of supporters of President François Bozizé, who helped him rise to power in the 2003 Central African Republic coup d'état. Its current status remains uncertain.
• Congolese Republican Guard — Protects President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Republican Guard (Donetsk People's Republic)
• Egyptian Republican Guard
• Republican Guard (Ethiopia)
• French Republican Guard — The original Republican Guard, serves as an honor guard and defends Paris. Part of the French Gendarmerie.
• Gabonese Republican Guard
• Guinean Republican Guard
• Ivorian Republican Guard
• Kazakh Republican Guard — A separate branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• Lebanese Republican Guard — A military force of the Directorate-General of the Presidency of Lebanon.
• Portuguese Republican National Guard
• Togolese Republican Guard
• South Ossetian Republican Guard
• Sudanese Republican Guard
• Syrian Republican Guard
• Yemeni Republican Guard

Defunct republican guards

• Iraqi Republican Guard (defunct)
  • Iraqi Special Republican Guard — A military force formed from the Iraqi Republican Guard and charged with Saddam Hussein's protection.
  • Fedayeen Saddam – Paramilitary force loyal to Saddam Hussein.
• Italian National Republican Guard (defunct)
• Peruvian Republican Guard (defunct)
• Moldovan Republican Guard (defunct)
• Transnistrian Republican Guard (defunct)

See also

• Presidential Guard (disambiguation)
• National Guard