The Top 9 Shirtless Heads of State Dec 23, 20082:31 PST

Given the reaction to the shirtless Barack Obama that hit the internets in the past 24 hours, you’d think that people had never seen a half-naked president before. Well we have. And I’ve got the evidence from around the world. It proves that although we trust photographers to catch beautiful people, some presidents are more fit to serve than they are to model.

Yulia Tymoshenko of the Ukraine is fit to model but unfortunately she does not (yet) have any swimsuit material we could contribute. If you find some pics, tell us!

#9 Vladimir Putin

The Russian PM took a well-publicized Siberian vacation last year to show off his manliness and general badassery while fishing. He’s no Teddy Roosevelt but we’ll give him credit for enjoying nature.

See one of the hairiest European leaders after the jump…

#8 John F. Kennedy

I was debating whether to count this World War 2 pic of Kennedy because he was not a head of state at the time. However, he campaigned as a war hero and won. Any shirtless pictures taken during his presidency might been classified anyway without the photoshop technology to crop out Marylin Monroe.

#7 Ronald Reagan

Like Obama, President Reagan & Nancy vacationed in Hawaii. Only difference–Reagan was in his 70s, as you can see by the swimsuit pulled up to his bellybutton. At some level, this is another Hollywood actor just being hounded by the paparazzi.

#6 Tony Blair

The British PM vacationed with his family in Miami Beach. For privacy and security measures, they surrounded his property with extra plants to obscure the view of passing boaters and onlookers. See how well that turned out.

#5 & 4 Gerald Ford & Valery Giscard d’Estaing

Gerald Ford chilled out in Martinique with the President of France, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, and Henry Kissinger. d’Estaing avoided vacations in Siberia for fear that a shirtless Putin may mistake him for a bear under all that body hair.

#3 Bill Clinton

President Clinton has also vacationed in Hawaii, but he has clearly relaxed his workout regimen since his pre-Rhodes Scholar days of running at Georgetown. This picture was taken in 1993, so by now he should be old enough to pull his swim trunks as high as Reagan.

#2 Nicholas Sarkozy

While the French president is popular, his hot Italian wife Carla Bruni is the real reason to focus your camera. Unfortunately this picture of her is not topless enough.

#1 Barack Obama

Still a President-elect, but that’s close enough. And he’s in shape enough to show it off.