Unsurprisingly, Time magazine has named teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg as its person of the year.
The 16-year-old Swede is the youngest-ever named by the prestigious magazine.
Time’s editor in chief, Edward Felsenthal, said Thunberg was chosen “for sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation lead”.
He added: “That Thunberg is the youngest individual ever named TIME’s Person of the Year says as much about the moment as it does about her.
“The 92-year-old franchise is rooted in the so-called Great Man theory of history, the notion that powerful individuals shape the world.
“Historically that has meant people who worked their way up the ladders of major organisations and were at home in the corridors of power.
“But in this moment when so many traditional institutions seem to be failing us, amid staggering inequality and social upheaval and political paralysis, we are seeing new kinds of influence take hold.”
Every year the magazine features the most influential person, group, movement or idea of the previous 12 months. Previous winners have included Adolf Hitler, Ayatollah Khomeini and Joseph Stalin.
2019’s shortlist included Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, The Whistleblower and the Hong Kong protestors.
