The Tattooed Body Politic: Czech Aims to Be First Tatooed President

Visual artist, music composer and candidate for president of the Czech Republic Vladimir Franz is shown during a press conference in Prague, Aug. 28, 2012. (Martin Divisek/isifa/Getty Images)

 

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Vladimir Franz, 53, is a Czech drama professor, a talented painter and a prolific opera and theater composer. But Franz wants to move out of the arts and into politics. If he can win his longshot bid to become president of the Czech Republic, he'd go down in history as the world's first head of state with a fully tattooed head.

Franz has tattoos covering 90 percent of his body, a variety of body piercings and dyed, blue hair.

Franz' presidential bid aims to oust Vaclav Klaus, the sitting president of the Czech Republic since 2003. He is not only running as an oddity but as an independent whose political views are far less extreme than his looks. According to the Daily Mail, Franz' "politics are moderate, promoting tolerance, human rights, democracy and encouraging the search for alternative energy sources."

Martin Divisek/isifa/Getty Images

Visual artist, music composer and candidate... View Full Size

Martin Divisek/isifa/Getty Images

Visual artist, music composer and candidate for president of the Czech Republic Vladimir Franz is shown during a press conference in Prague, Aug. 28, 2012.

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Though many think that the campaign of this unlikely candidate is a joke, Franz assures them that it is not. He is charging full force ahead with his campaign, travelling across the Eastern European country collecting the 50,000 signatures required to run for office.

And people seem to be taking to the campaign as Franz collected almost 8,800 signatures during his first weekend of campaigning.

Though he is new to politics, Franz has already assimilated into the life of a politician, utilizing social networking sites, like Facebook where he has well over 25,000 followers. A Facebook photo posted to his page even snaps a photo of him holding a baby in true political fashion.

The striking candidate is the living example of not judging a book by its cover or a candidate by his ink.

Franz, whose intimidating image may be off-putting to some, graduated from law school and got a doctorate in the field of law. Franz never pursued a career in law, rather he dedicated his life to the arts--in more than one sense of the word.