Meet Vladimir Franz, probably the most tattooed man to ever run for president in any country of the world. The eccentric candidate is currently gathering signatures in order to be able to candidate for president of the Czech Republic in 2013.

53-year-old Vladimir Franz has what many people call a striking appearance. His face and body are covered with tattoos, which actually makes him look blue, literally blue. But that’s not all that makes him stand out from the rest of the candidates. He’s the perfect example of why people should never “judge a book by its cover”. You couldn’t tell by looking at him, but Franz is actually a drama professor at one of the most prestigious universities in Prague, a talented painter and a successful opera composer. As a young man, he also graduated from law school and got a doctorate in the field of law, but chose not to pursue a career as a lawyer or magistrate during the communist Czechoslovakian regime. Instead, he turned his atention towards art, and after studying painting and music, he became a university professor as well. He is well know in the Czech Republic for initiating a serious of cultural movements for the country’s youth, which makes him very popular among young voters.

Believe it or not, Vladimir Franz’s political views are far less extreme than his looks. He seems to have very moderate and agreeable positions on very general issues, which probably is something many people wouldn’t expect from someone with his face covered with tattoos and piercings. Even analysts agree that his very clear views and an inspired political agenda are likely to make him popular with voters. Although he isn’t credited with the highest chance of wining the 2013 Czech presidential elections, Franz is expected to gather more votes than a few of the other candidates who have expressed their intention of running for president. He is still collecting signatures and hopes to reach the 50,000 threshold in order to be officially allowed to candidate for presidency, and judging by his online popularity, he’s not going to have too much trouble. The university professor also announced he will be running his campaign exclusively on social networks. Check out his Facebook page.

Talking about the tattoos covering most of his face and body, Vladimir Franz said he sees tattooing simply as a centuries-old art form, an aesthetic means people have been using to express themselves since time immemorial. In his case they have nothing to do with dark magic or any kind of bizarre ritual.

So, would you vote for a man who looks like Vladimir Franz? I would, not only because he seems like a complex person with agreeable political views, but also because I think he would make diplomatic meetings and photos a lot more interesting.

He reminds me of Lucky Diamond Rich, the most tattooed man on Earth.

via Prague Monitor

Photos: Gucci Wolf