GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA Merkel has been chosen as Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
The German leader was chosen from a shortlist which included Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, US presidential candidate Donald Trump, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner.
Time praised Merkel for her response to the prospect of Greek bankruptcy, the way she dealt with the migrant and refugee crisis, the Paris attacks and Russia’s expansion into Ukraine.
“Each time, Merkel stepped in,” the magazine said in an editorial, explaining its choice.
“Germany would bail Greece out, on her strict terms. It would welcome refugees as casualties of radical Islamist savagery, not carriers of it. And it would deploy troops abroad in the fight against ISIS”.
It is the first time in 29 years that a woman has won the award. The last female winner was Corazon Aquino, then-president of the Philippines, in 1986.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi came second in the shortlist this year, followed by Donald Trump in third place, Black Lives Matter activists in fourth, and Hassan Rouhani in fifth.
Founder of Uber Travis Kalanick came sixth for ‘changing the nature of work’, while Caitlyn Jenner was placed seventh.
Editor Nancy Gibbs praised Merkel for standing firm to her principles while also intervening on the world stage.
“For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, Angela Merkel is Time’s Person of the Year,” she wrote.
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