# Who is the ugliest head of state? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405 "2011-04-14T20:24:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/21 "2011-04-15T15:25:48Z")
> [@BDoors](#): > > “Biffo” Cowen is so magnificently ugly he’s almost beautiful. Almost. If you’re going to be an ugly fucker, might as well do it in style, I say. Just as an FYI for almost everyone “BIFFO” stands for Big Ignorant Fucker From Offaly and he certainly was/is. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/22 "2011-04-15T15:58:59Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I know the OP specified “current” heads of state so this does not count but as ugliest ever I give you [Golda Meir](http://www.imemc.org/attachments/oct2010/golda_meir.jpg) (that is a woman BTW). > > Make no mistake…she was very good at her job\* and a total badass. But “fugly” barely covers it. > > [sub]\* IIRC she was having a discussion with President Nixon after the Yom Kippur War (I think) where Nixon supposedly told her he’d give her any three US generals for General Moshe Dyan who performed brilliantly. She supposedly responded something to the effect of, “Sure. I’ll take General Motors, General Electric and General Dynamics.” > > She was also the one who ordered all the terrorists who killed Israeli athletes in Munich hunted down and killed. Took years but they did it. > > She was not a woman you wanted to cross.[/sub] The odd thing is that when she was young, she was reasonably attractive: [http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/html/2011\_12\_3\_3\_4.htm](http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/html/2011_12_3_3_4.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/23 "2011-04-15T20:05:31Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > So I’ll have to go with [Arafat](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fansonline.net/images/coventrycity/Yasser-arafat-1999-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fansonline.net/coventrycity/article.php%3Fid%3D322&usg=__6LU-d4yKCQplwy6PDPBPGCdy1Ks=&h=576&w=705&sz=76&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=vRQjOUWD85cpOM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=153&ei=kRuoTdbmC4qU0QGgltz5CA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dyasir%2Barafat%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26biw%3D1052%26bih%3D1036%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=765&vpy=726&dur=4326&hovh=203&hovw=248&tx=127&ty=147&oei=kRuoTdbmC4qU0QGgltz5CA&page=1&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:34,s:0). Ah, but he had a winning smile. > [@Cicero](#): > > [Leonard Brehzniv](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40339000/jpg/_40339045_ussr_brezhnev_ap_use.jpg)fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. He looks like an exhibit at the museam of natural history. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/24 "2011-04-15T21:05:56Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > He looks like an exhibit at the museam of natural history. Remember, that’s what the Soviets did with their leaders after they died. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/25 "2011-04-15T23:40:10Z")
Speaking of ugly Spanish monarchs, [Philip IV](http://madmonarchist.blogspot.com/2010/06/monarch-profile-king-philip-iv-of-spain.html) was no prize, either. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/26 "2011-04-16T00:07:50Z")
It’s worth keeping in mind that pre-photography, a portrait painter’s job was to make his subject look good. So someone that is ugly as sin in a portrait, well, divide by half. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/27 "2011-04-16T00:29:33Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I know the OP specified “current” heads of state so this does not count but as ugliest ever I give you [Golda Meir](http://www.imemc.org/attachments/oct2010/golda_meir.jpg) (that is a woman BTW). I’ll get you, Dorothy! And your little dog, too! ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/28 "2011-04-16T02:51:17Z")
Seriously folks, some of these are laughable. I see uglier people in the supermarket. Yushchenko looks scary but he was poisoned, he doesn’t look like that normally. Brian Cowen looks like a fat middle management type. I don’t think he’s spectacularly ugly. Omar al Bashir is an ordinary looking middle aged Black dude. Noriega - just had acne scars. Not that ugly, really. The real contenders are - Golda Meir - Leonid Brezhnev - Gaddhafi - Those Spanish king dudes In almost all of these folks’ cases, time did terrible things to their faces. I was amazed at how pretty Meir was as a young woman… WTF happened? ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/29 "2011-04-16T05:46:43Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > No, no, no, get it right: the Pope looks like _Palpatine_. [Pope Benny](http://rulehibernia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/pope_benedict_xvi.jpg) after the destruction of Alderaan. (Bonus: He’s wearing a Santa hat) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/30 "2011-04-16T07:33:53Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The odd thing is that when she was young, she was reasonably attractive: > > [http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/html/2011\_12\_3\_3\_4.htm](http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/html/2011_12_3_3_4.htm) [Gaddafi](http://atlantapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Muamar-Gaddafi-1969.jpg) wasn’t all that unattractive, either. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/31 "2011-04-16T08:30:01Z")
[You’re right.](http://www.onlinepicture.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gaddafi_01.jpg) What the hell happened to his face? His eyes seem to have narrowed significantly. I don’t understand what could have caused this. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/32 "2011-04-16T08:37:45Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [You’re right.](http://www.onlinepicture.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gaddafi_01.jpg) What the hell happened to his face? His eyes seem to have narrowed significantly. I don’t understand what could have caused this. Too much pulling his pud. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/33 "2011-04-16T12:53:18Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [You’re right.](http://www.onlinepicture.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gaddafi_01.jpg) What the hell happened to his face? His eyes seem to have narrowed significantly. I don’t understand what could have caused this. Bloody hell! He’s really handsome! ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/34 "2011-04-16T14:05:45Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [You’re right.](http://www.onlinepicture.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gaddafi_01.jpg) What the hell happened to his face? His eyes seem to have narrowed significantly. I don’t understand what could have caused this. His mind changed for the worst. His face is the reflection of his mind. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/35 "2011-04-16T14:20:34Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Remember, that’s what the Soviets did with their leaders after they died. I’m not sure you’d find a taxidermist who could stomach the job. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/36 "2011-04-16T14:31:56Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Ugliest ruler _of all time_? [Carlos II](http://www.google.com/images?complete=1&hl=en&biw=1155&bih=643&q=carlos%20ii%20of%20spain&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi) of Spain, probably. He also has an interesting [family tree](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Carlos_segundo80.png) ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/37 "2011-04-16T15:04:42Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Ugliest ruler _of all time_? [Carlos II](http://www.google.com/images?complete=1&hl=en&biw=1155&bih=643&q=carlos%20ii%20of%20spain&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi) of Spain, probably. I look at those pictures and think “homely woman”, not “ugly man”. Makes me wonder if there’s some kind of sex mix-up going on there. ETA: though with that family tree, anything is possible. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405/38 "2011-04-16T16:08:56Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [You’re right.](http://www.onlinepicture.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gaddafi_01.jpg) What the hell happened to his face? His eyes seem to have narrowed significantly. I don’t understand what could have caused this. Here’s what happened [Gaddafi’s Plastic Surgery: Brazilian Surgeon Claims He Operated On Dictator](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/25/gaddafi-plastic-surgery-_n_840480.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-ugliest-head-of-state/578405.md?page=1)