Last but not least: Time names protester "Person of the Year"

With the title "Person of the Year", Time honors the person who has had the greatest impact on the year that is coming to an end. A year after a Tunisian vegetable seller set himself on fire in protest at the situation in his country, the movement has spread across the Middle East to Europe and the US, changing global politics and redefining people power, Time explained the decision according to SDA. It is remarkable how much the leaders of the protest movements have in common, the latest issue of the magazine continued. Most of them are young, middle-class and educated. Almost all of this year's movements began independently of existing political parties or opposition groups.

Time puts "The Demonstrator" on a winner's podium that has already been occupied by US President Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bono from the rock group U2 and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In previous years, these have made it onto the cover of the traditional "Person of the Year" issue in December. A year ago, the title went to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Among the other candidates this year were the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and Kate Middleton, Prince William's wife. The reason the Times gives for this choice: "Across the world, the protesters of 2011 believe that their countries' political systems and economies are dysfunctional and corrupt, that they have evolved into sham democracies that serve the rich and powerful and block real change." Time editor-in-chief Rick Stengel adds that the broadest reports of 2011 had to do with the protesters. "They resisted, making demands without giving up, even when the response came in the form of a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets."