IT IS PROBABLY the only time that Pope Francis and Miley Cyrus will be in direct competition for an award.
TIME Magazine will this morning reveal who its Person of the Year is this morning – and competition among the final ten contenders is fierce.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden, Pope Francis, and Syrian president Bashar Assad have all made the shortlist, along with singer Miley Cyrus and US president Barack Obama.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the only businessperson to make the list, alongide Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and gay rights activist Edith Windsor.
Two other US politicians – Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services – round out the ten.
The award was given out for the first time in 1927 and is given to the person who the magazine’s editors think most influenced the news this year, for good or bad.
The magazine has a history of making esoteric choices. The Protester won in 2011 while You won in 2006 (congratulations, by the way). Other winners through the decades include Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin (who won twice), Ayatollah Khomeini, Henry Kissinger and Newt Gingrich.
Last year’s winner was US President Barack Obama, who had also previously won in 2008. Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai was named as the runner-up.
Readers of TIME last week chose Egypt’s General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi as their Person of the Year.
Who do you think the award should go to? Let us know in the comments.
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