Experts for decades are trying their best to find out if political leaders have employed body doubles to deceive their enemies and the opposition! While there is no full proof evidence that “body doubles” are real and exist, what makes it more intriguing and thrilling is that even if there exist doppelgangers, we would never know of them, because, duh! Is Putin using Body double? And, what are body doubles? This article will walk you through the answer along with the names of all the leaders who used body doubles as a form of avoidance of potential risks from the opposition! While there are few pieces of evidence against leaders like Bernard Montgomery and Joseph Stalin, there is no such evidence about other politicians using body doubles.
Read on, to know more about the world leaders who have employed body doubles or look-alikes to deceive and confuse their enemies. But, before directly jumping into the topic, let us take a short glimpse into what are body doubles in the first place.
What Are Body Doubles?
Body doubles, commonly known as a political decoy, is a person who is employed, generally by political leaders, to impersonate the politician. The primary goal of the political decoy is to snatch attention from the real person and confuse the opposition or the enemy. This is done to reduce risks and possible political assassination by the “real” politician!
The body double must bear strong recumbency to the target. He/She also needs to adapt to the attitude and ways of the target, in order to be a successful look alike. Often, the help of plastic surgery is taken to strengthen the resemblance. Moreover, they are trained to act similar to the person impersonated.
Leaders Who Used Body Doubles
Below is the list that mentions the names of politicians using Body doubles. Various leaders who used body doubles include:
1. Vladimir Putin – Is Putin Using Body Double?
“Is Putin using body double?” is the common question that surfaces on the internet. While the Russian President himself has denied his association with any body-double, many people believe that he has his own body double. Reports also suggest that during the Chechnya conflict, the government was considering appointing a body double for the Russian leaders, but Putin declined the offer!
2. Kim Jong-un
We all are aware of Kim Jong-un and his dictatorship rule in North Korea. The internet was flooded with pictures of him with his two lookalikes – dressed in a similar fashion as the dictator. He has snapped his chin wagging with his two body doubles!
3. Queen Elizabeth
Next on the list is Queen Elizabeth. Ella Slack came in news in 2017 when the world was first introduced to the body double of Queen Elizabeth. The 74-year-old later admitted that she felt honored for being able to serve the Royal Highness! She also confirmed that during repeated rehearsals, she used to stand in the place of the Queen.
Also Read- How Victoria Became Queen As Well As The First Empress Of India
4. Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton also falls on the list of politicians using body doubles. The news came into the limelight in the year 2016 when Clinton collapsed at the 9/11 ceremony in New York, but the audience later saw a more healthy-looking Clinton waving at them. Since then, people have been spreading rumors that the “new” Clinton is more “thin” and thus she is a body double of the real Hillary Clinton.
5. Bernard Montgomery
As we all know, General Bernard Montgomery was the person associated with planning the D-Day invasion of Normandy. During the same time, M. E. Clifton James was found out to look exactly the same as the former leader! He was then appointed to act similarly to Montgomery and travel around North Africa while confusing the Germans! In his autobiography, James recollected that the Germans were so deceived that they considered killing the body double!
6. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin had not one, but two body doubles named Rashid and Felix Dadaev. While the former used to sit in place of the USSR dictator at different meetings and banquets, Dadaev admitted that he was employed during the leader’s trip to the 1945 Yalta Conference. He said that Stalin’s visit was a secret trip, so the flight taken by Dadaev was telecasted!
7. Saddam Hussein
In the year 2003, news about the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein using a body double surfaced in the news. The German television network, ZDF broadcast claimed that discrepancies have been found in the position of Hussein’s facial features and spots and scars in different appearances. However, Ala Bashir, Saddam Hussein’s former personal physician, stated, “The stories about Saddam Hussein having body doubles, to foster the impression that the Iraqi dictator was everywhere, are nonsense.”
Also Read- Why USA Attacked Iraq? American Government’s Dirty Secrets
8. Uday Saddam Hussein
Following the path of his father, Saddam Hussein, Uday Saddam Hussein is also said to use a different body double in his political career. During the 1990s, Latif Yahia escaped from his clutches and the World came to be aware of Uday Saddam Hussein using a look alike.
9. Melanie Trump
The US First Lady Melanie Trump is also accused of using a body double to avoid risk and problems in public. Since 2017, reports suggest that the White House has employed a look-alike as a substitute for the real Melanie Trump for campaigns.
Politicians Using Body Doubles – Why?
The main idea behind body doubles is concealment and deceit! While there is no evidence, several documents hint toward a common fact – there are world leaders who use body doubles as a form of protection. This deceitful act is not new, this is a very age-old process – which was always there, and will always exist, carefully hidden from common sight!
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