Obama named Time magazine’s Person of the Year
Posted December 19, 2012 9:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
United States President Barack Obama has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for the second time.
Obama, who also received the honour in 2008, beat out 14-year-old activist Malala Yousufzai, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Fabiola Gianotti, a head scientist on the team that captured “God particle.”
Time said Obama is “the 21st century version of this new American.”
“We are in the midst of historic cultural and demographic changes, and Obama is both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America,” the editors wrote, praising Obama for embracing gay marriage, offering work permits to young undocumented immigrants, and capturing the youth vote.
Time also singled out four runners-up, including Yousufzai.
Yousufzai was shot by the Taliban for speaking out against the militants and promoting education for girls in Pakistan.
The attack sparked outrage around the world and in Pakistan, where young girls held protests and confirmed they would continue to pursue an education despite the Taliban.
She is recovering and plans to return to school.
Morsi became Egypt’s first democratically-elected on June 30, after the Arab Spring uprising that swept the Middle East.
Since then, Time said, he has put both the United States and Israel at ease, “even as he has filled many of his compatriots with dread.”
His reign as not been without controversy: Morsi later signed an emergency decree giving himself unlimited power, which led to deadly protests. He reversed the decree but introduced a controversial constitution.
Cook, who is openly gay, is the first CEO to succeed Apple founder Steve Jobs. Time said Cook’s record “hasn’t been flawless,” but each product upgrade has been “masterly” and the “run-up in the company’s financial fortunes can only be described as historic.”
Gianotti led a team at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) who captured the Higgs-Boson particle, the so-called “God particle.”
Researchers hope the particle can help explain why there is mass in the universe.
