President Volodymyr Zelensky Named Time Magazine's 2022 Person Of The Year

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been named Time Magazine’s 2022 Person of the Year for embodying “the spirit of Ukraine.”

The title Person of the Year has been given to changemakers since its inception in 1927. The magazine’s honor is given to a person or event that has had a major impact throughout the entire year.

Since February, the war in Ukraine has been capturing headlines and the man at the forefront is Zelensky. The Ukranian president has been recognized for his leadership during this time.

Zelensky has continued to speak out in defense of his country spreading awareness on the war in interviews, during the 2022 Oscars and social media despite numerous assassination attempts.

“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, the world marched to Volodymyr Zelensky’s beat in 2022,” Time Magazine Editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said. He also said Zelensky’s decision “not to flee Kyiv but to stay and rally support was fateful.”

Before becoming the leader of the second largest European country in 2019, the 44-year-old was an actor, writer and producer who made several comedic films. He decided to fall back on his law degree, going into politics and announcing his run for presidency in 2018. In addition to leading the country through a war, he has also led his people through an economic recession and pandemic.

Finalists for this year’s Person of the Year included protesters in Iran, China's leader Xi Jinping and the US Supreme Court.

Zelensky is now in the company of several other influencers such as Swedish environmental Activist Greta Thunberg, Former Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump and George Bush, Angela Merkel and more.