A person or institution that holds and manages property for the benefit of others (beneficiaries) according to the terms of a trust. The trustee has a fiduciary duty to act in the beneficiaries' best interests.
From 'trust' with the suffix '-ee' indicating the recipient of trust. The concept evolved from medieval English law where property was 'trusted' to reliable persons for safekeeping and management.
Trustees are like professional babysitters for money and property! They have to follow strict rules about how they manage other people's assets, and if they mess up or act selfishly, they can be personally liable for losses.
Trustee roles historically excluded women through both formal barriers and gatekeeping in finance and governance. Male trustees dominated institutional power well into the 20th century.
Use trustee for all genders; actively credit women trustees in institutional histories where they broke barriers.
Women trustees like Clara Barton (American Red Cross) and Florence Nightingale established institutional leadership models that were later mainstream.
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