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| Is Canada's new PM the only world leader with a tattoo? | Is Canada's new PM the only world leader with a tattoo? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| While some Canadians have been marvelling at the size of Justin Trudeau's election victory - helping the Liberal Party turn a wipeout in 2011 into an overall majority - others have been focusing on the 43-year-old's athletic body and a large tattoo on his left arm. Could he, they ask, be the only major world leader with a tattoo? | While some Canadians have been marvelling at the size of Justin Trudeau's election victory - helping the Liberal Party turn a wipeout in 2011 into an overall majority - others have been focusing on the 43-year-old's athletic body and a large tattoo on his left arm. Could he, they ask, be the only major world leader with a tattoo? |
| The tattooed image of a raven in the style of Haida people indigenous to Canada's Pacific north-west was getting a lot of attention on social media on election night. | The tattooed image of a raven in the style of Haida people indigenous to Canada's Pacific north-west was getting a lot of attention on social media on election night. |
| "OH that IS a Raven tattoo! This guy seems interesting," tweeted @meg_shuler. "Is Justin Trudeau the first Western leader to have a tattoo?" asked @aveek18 - one of a number of people who wondered this. | "OH that IS a Raven tattoo! This guy seems interesting," tweeted @meg_shuler. "Is Justin Trudeau the first Western leader to have a tattoo?" asked @aveek18 - one of a number of people who wondered this. |
| "My tattoo is planet Earth inside a Haida raven. The globe I got when I was 23; the Robert Davidson raven for my 40th birthday," the Liberal Party leader tweeted in 2012. | "My tattoo is planet Earth inside a Haida raven. The globe I got when I was 23; the Robert Davidson raven for my 40th birthday," the Liberal Party leader tweeted in 2012. |
| The design was soon on full public view when he fought a charity boxing match against political rival, Patrick Brazeau, and surprised many by winning. | The design was soon on full public view when he fought a charity boxing match against political rival, Patrick Brazeau, and surprised many by winning. |
| There seems to be some logic behind the choice of a Haida mythological symbol. The Trudeau family were made honorary members of the Haida tribe in 1976 during the second prime ministerial term of Trudeau's father, Pierre. | There seems to be some logic behind the choice of a Haida mythological symbol. The Trudeau family were made honorary members of the Haida tribe in 1976 during the second prime ministerial term of Trudeau's father, Pierre. |
| The younger Trudeau went on to attend the University of British Columbia. While studying to be a teacher there, his younger brother, Michel, died in an avalanche in 1998. | The younger Trudeau went on to attend the University of British Columbia. While studying to be a teacher there, his younger brother, Michel, died in an avalanche in 1998. |
| Trudeau once said the raven was a character "who creates with irreverence a powerful force". | Trudeau once said the raven was a character "who creates with irreverence a powerful force". |
| So how unusual is it for a world leader to have a tattoo? | So how unusual is it for a world leader to have a tattoo? |
| It's difficult to definitely say that no prominent current heads of state have tattoos. If they do, they keep them covered up. | It's difficult to definitely say that no prominent current heads of state have tattoos. If they do, they keep them covered up. |
| Tattoo historian Anna Felicity Friedman says she isn't aware of any. Nor is self-proclaimed tattoo professor Kevin Gannon. | Tattoo historian Anna Felicity Friedman says she isn't aware of any. Nor is self-proclaimed tattoo professor Kevin Gannon. |
| However, there have been plenty of tattooed world leaders in the past. | However, there have been plenty of tattooed world leaders in the past. |
| Russian Tsar Nicholas II had a dragon inscribed on his arm during a visit to Japan in 1891, while King Alexander of Yugoslavia had a large heraldic eagle tattooed over his chest. King Frederick IX of Denmark acquired a number of naval-themed tattoos in the navy. | Russian Tsar Nicholas II had a dragon inscribed on his arm during a visit to Japan in 1891, while King Alexander of Yugoslavia had a large heraldic eagle tattooed over his chest. King Frederick IX of Denmark acquired a number of naval-themed tattoos in the navy. |
| British Monarchs George V and Edward VII both had a Jerusalem cross tattooed on their arm to mark their pilgrimage to the city, while it's often reported that former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill had an anchor - although the Churchill Centre says it has found no evidence to support this. | |
| In the US, president Teddy Roosevelt had his family crest tattooed on his chest, while James Polk supposedly had a Chinese character that translated to "eager", and Andrew Jackson was said to have a tomahawk inked on his thigh. | In the US, president Teddy Roosevelt had his family crest tattooed on his chest, while James Polk supposedly had a Chinese character that translated to "eager", and Andrew Jackson was said to have a tomahawk inked on his thigh. |
| "The interesting thing about Trudeau is he has been very willing to put his tattoo out there in the public eye," says Friedman. | "The interesting thing about Trudeau is he has been very willing to put his tattoo out there in the public eye," says Friedman. |
| "Trudeau also doesn't seem to be afraid to be a bit edgy." | "Trudeau also doesn't seem to be afraid to be a bit edgy." |
| Tattoo professor Kevin Gannon agrees. | Tattoo professor Kevin Gannon agrees. |
| "Being the PM is expected to be a buttoned-down role. But his youthful, new approach was refreshing, and a tattoo can underscore that image," he says. | "Being the PM is expected to be a buttoned-down role. But his youthful, new approach was refreshing, and a tattoo can underscore that image," he says. |
| It was a dilemma the former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt faced in 2008, when an out-of-work artist wrote to him suggesting a chest tattoo in the design of a Viking-style ship and a horseshoe over a shield of fire, and underneath it his wife's name, "Filippa". | It was a dilemma the former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt faced in 2008, when an out-of-work artist wrote to him suggesting a chest tattoo in the design of a Viking-style ship and a horseshoe over a shield of fire, and underneath it his wife's name, "Filippa". |
| Reinfeldt declined the offer. "While the prime minister thinks it is important to reach out to young people," his spokesman said, "he has no plans to get a tattoo." | Reinfeldt declined the offer. "While the prime minister thinks it is important to reach out to young people," his spokesman said, "he has no plans to get a tattoo." |
| Michael Atkinson, University of Toronto sociology professor and author of Tattooed: The Sociogenesis of a Body Art, says Conservative Canadians will take Trudeau's tattoo as evidence that he is not ready for the job. | Michael Atkinson, University of Toronto sociology professor and author of Tattooed: The Sociogenesis of a Body Art, says Conservative Canadians will take Trudeau's tattoo as evidence that he is not ready for the job. |
| There will also be controversy, he says, "about someone who is not First Nation using First Nation iconography". But others will interpret it as a symbol of inclusivity, he suggests. | There will also be controversy, he says, "about someone who is not First Nation using First Nation iconography". But others will interpret it as a symbol of inclusivity, he suggests. |
| "He speaks to a generation of people who are looking for something different in terms of leadership and their sense of self, style, and approach to civic engagement. His tattoo is a good indicator of the man, and what he represents." | "He speaks to a generation of people who are looking for something different in terms of leadership and their sense of self, style, and approach to civic engagement. His tattoo is a good indicator of the man, and what he represents." |
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