21 Photos of World Leaders From When They Were Young
We all know what most of these people look like now, but do we know what they looked like then?
These 21 faces have dominated politics and policy on the world stage for the past century, facing the public through war, peace, disaster, and triumph. Their faces are etched into the pages of history books, but not how they're seen here. These are the faces of 21 world leaders before they were in the public eye.
In these photos, they are still hopeful, naive, and innocent. Unfortunately, few of them had the privilege of staying that way. Vladimir Putin certainly has plenty of dirt on his hands, and seeing him pictured as a 28-year-old KGB officer, it's doubtful he went very long before taking part in the organization's cutthroat tactics. The determination in his eyes is apparent, and it's not surprising he played the game perfectly and rose to the top. He doesn't seem like the "happy child" type, exemplified by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's photo.
Here are 21 famous world leaders, and what they looked like before they became household faces.
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1.
Young Donald Trump. -
2.
Young Teddy Roosevelt. -
3.
A young Bill Clinton meets President John F Kennedy in 1963. -
4.
Ronald Reagan, 12 Years Old, 1923. -
5.
Barack Obama, three years old, with his grandfather in 1965. -
6.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Lothar de Maiziere in 1990. -
7.
Eight-year-old Justin Trudeau feeds pigeons in 1980. -
8.
Vladimir Putin as a KGB officer in 1980. -
9.
Joseph Stalin in 1902 after dropping out from seminary school. -
10.
A mugshot of Benito Mussolini after his arrest by Swiss police in 1903. -
11.
Fidel Castro's yearbook photo from 1945. -
12.
Barack Obama. -
13.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister. -
14.
George Bush, 1960s. -
15.
Princess Elizabeth II of England at 18 years old in 1945. -
16.
Margaret Thatcher. -
17.
Kim Jong-il with his father Kim Il-sung and mother Kim Jong-suk in 1945. -
18.
Sadam Hussein. -
19.
John F. Kennedy at age 10 in 1927. -
20.
Nelson Mandela in 1961. -
21.
Richard Nixon playing football in the 1930s. -
22.
Hilary Clinton around 1969.
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