TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Merkel as 2015 ‘Person of the Year’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named as 2015 Person of the Year on 9 December 2015 by Time Magazine. The magazine cited her role in Europe’s crisis over migration and Greek debt.

The announcement was made by Editor Nancy Gibbs, who in praise of Merkel said that Merkel had provided steadfast moral leadership in a world, where it is in short supply.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was named runner-up and third place went to US Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

With this, Merkel, 61, joined the list of former winners, including Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin,Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and Richard Nixon. She is only the fourth woman since 1927 to be named winner outright and the first in 29 years. The other women to win were Wallis Simpson (1936), Queen Elizabeth II (1952) and Corazon Aquino (1986).

Other contenders of the 2015 Time’s Person of the Year were
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi: Leader of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who inspired followers to both fight in his self-declared caliphate of Iraq and Syria, and also stage attacks in countries like Tunisia and France.

Donald Trump: Frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential candidate of United States of America. His populist rhetoric stirred debate about the party’s future.

Black Lives Matter activists: They protested inequality towards African Americans, especially in their treatment by law enforcement.

Caitlyn Jenner: A transgender woman who prompted widespread conversations about gender identity and issues of equality for the LGBT community.

Travis Kalanick: CEO of Uber who drove his car-hailing company to a nearly $70 billion valuation, but also drew criticism about the downside of the sharing economy.

Vladimir Putin: President of Russia who has defied Western sanctions over his country’s military activity in Ukraine to play a critical but precarious role in the war on ISIS.

Hassan Rouhani: President of Iran who is seeking to bring his country out of pariah status and repair its sanctions-crippled economy by pursuing a nuclear deal with the West.

TIME's Person of the Year since 2000
This is an annual honour bestowed by Time magazine since 1927. It goes to the person who most influenced the news during the year for better or worse.
• 2000: George W Bush
• 2001: Rudolph Giuliani, who was New York City's mayor on 9/11
• 2002: The Enron Whistleblowers
• 2003: The American soldier
• 2004: George W. Bush
• 2005: The Good Samaritans - Bono and Bill Gates
• 2006: You - represented by the Internet
• 2007: Vladimir Putin
• 2008: Barack Obama
• 2009: Ben Bernanke
• 2010: Mark Zuckerberg
• 2011: The Protester
• 2012: Barack Obama
• 2013: Pope Francis
• 2014: Ebola fighter

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