Minder

A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who "minds".

Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are often termed minders, assigned to offer assistance such as acting as a guide or as a translator, or protection in dangerous areas, or to define areas of permitted travel. Often they are perceived as also attempting to censor or otherwise control the flow of information to the visitor.[1][2] Government appointed minders are used in North Korea.[3]

Minders can also be personal bodyguards or protectors, either in an official capacity such as protecting celebrities or VIPs, or in an unofficial capacity as a protector of members of the criminal underworld, as described by the UK television series Minder.[4][5]

A minder can also be a term for anyone who looks after the interests of someone or something, such as a talent manager, a caretaker, or a person that ensures that a certain official protocol or plan is adhered to by others, or someone that is designated to look after someone who needs assistance (c.f UK English: Child minder for nanny).[6][7][8][9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Cracks in the monolith". Cbc.ca. 28 October 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2009. Our ministry minder was very agitated. "You mustn't ask such questions," he told me
  2. ^ "The toppling of Saddam - an end to 30 years of brutal rule". World News. London: The Guardian. 10 April 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2009. At 9am, as the marines were trundling into the southern suburbs of Baghdad, the minders from the information ministry who spy on journalists, were lined up for duty at the table in the lobby, dictating where, and where not, it was possible to travel....The minder who accompanied us pointed to a branch office of Iraqi Airways, which was improbably open, and where employees were waiting for their pay. A hair salon next door was open as well. "You see, everything is normal," he said.
  3. ^ "Made in North Korea". Times of Malta. May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Sara Newman (8 December 2006). "Secret life of a VIP minder". Where I live - Features - People. BBC. Retrieved 14 January 2009. We shake the mighty hand of celebrity minder Paul Hughes as he reveals the secret world of an A-list bodyguard in Manchester
  5. ^ "Shane Richie's Minder is launched". Metro. 13 January 2009. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2009. Shane plays Archie Daley, with Royal Shakespeare Company actor Lex Shrapnel taking on the role of his minder, Jamie Cartwright.
  6. ^ Abramowitz, Rachel (10 February 2008). "Death Spiral". Entertainment. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 January 2009. In "Sleepers," Barry Levinson's drama about four neighborhood kids who are abused by sadistic guards in juvenile prison, he played the younger version of Brad Pitt's character. Knowing of his wildness, Levinson mandated that Renfro be accompanied by a minder 24 hours a day. Levinson later told a reporter, "He was fraught with demons and needed help."
  7. ^ "Bec and Lleyton Hewitt minder blasts New Idea over false baby torment story". News.com.au. 8 December 2008. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2009. Hewitts' manager David Drysdale has gone public about the "untruths" of last week's cover story
  8. ^ "Minder Wanted For Island Paradise". Yahoo News. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009. The authorities are looking for a caretaker for Hamilton Island
  9. ^ "Editorial:Suicide-bombing at DI Khan". Pakistan Daily Times. 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2009. A young boy aged below 18 killed himself in Dera Ismail Khan...He was another in the line of victims of the clerics who train young boys as suicide-bombers for the Taliban. There is no doubt that he was accompanied by a "minder" who would have killed him if he had not carried out his "mission".
  10. ^ "Tour pacakges and prices". F1grandprixtours.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2009. The Wheelchair General Access Pass allows the holder to access the circuit and watch the race from a designated viewing position, which is located on the outside of the first chicane. If accompanied by a minder, the minder's General Access Pass will be free of charge.
  11. ^ George Crile, In Charlie Wilson's War , Grove Press 2007, ISBN 0-8021-4341-5, p259, Google Books search (partial preview), "It was an outrageous request. [Central Intelligence] Agency officers are not permitted to lobby congress for money. They're not even permitted to talk to members of congress without an authorization, and then only when accompanied by a minder", Retrieved on 14 January 2009