Angela Merkel named ‘Person of the Year’ by Time magazine

Time magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its 2015 “Person of the Year”, noting her resilience and leadership when faced with the Syrian refugee crisis and turmoil in the European Union over its currency this year.

In a statement explaining the magazine’s choice, managing editor Nancy Gibbs said despite crises in the region that caused “reason to wonder whether Europe could continue to exist,” Merkel, 61, emerged as an “indispensable player”.

“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,” Gibbs wrote.

In response to the news, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told a government news conference: “I am sure the chancellor will cherish this as an incentive in her job.”

Merkel topped a short list of finalists that included US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who came in third, and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, runner-up.