Time Magazine has chosen Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, and “the spirit of Ukraine” as its Person of the Year for 2022.
The person or event deemed to have had the greatest impact on global events over the past year receives this honor.
Iran protesters, China’s Xi Jinping, and the US Supreme Court were other finalists.
The decision, according to the magazine’s editor, was “the most clear-cut in memory.”
Edward Felsenthal wrote, “There was a coming together around this cause, around this country, in a world that had come to be defined by its divisiveness.”
He went on to say that Ukrainians all over the world, including many who “fought behind the scenes,” were referred to as the “spirit of Ukraine.” This includes people like Ievgen Klopotenko, a chef who fed thousands of Ukrainians for free, and Yuliia Payevska, a medical professional who was captured and freed after three months in Russian captivity.
According to the publication, Mr. Zelensky was recognized internationally for his bravery in resisting the Russian invasion and had inspired Ukrainians.
It stated, “The fact that courage is contagious has depended on the fact that Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader.”
David Nott, a British trauma surgeon who traveled to Ukraine to assist war victims, is one of several people featured on the magazine’s cover.
Time named women in Iran its 2022 Heroes of the Year, and Time named K-pop band Blackpink its Entertainer of the Year.
The Athlete of the Year is American baseball player Aaron Judge, and the Icon of the Year is Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh.
Elon Musk, who was last year’s victor, was again recorded as a finalist. Tesla, his electric car company, became the world’s most valuable automaker in 2021.
The custom began in 1927, when it was called the Man of the Year.
Adolf Hitler, the German dictator who ruled Germany from 1938 to 2007, and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, have both been winners in the past.
Previous winners from the previous decade include Elon Musk in 2021, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020, Greta Thunberg in 2019, “The Guardians,” a group of journalists that included Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, “The silence breakers,” the women who started the #MeToo movement in 2017, “The silence breakers,” and Donald Trump in 2016.