Time Person of the Year 2022: president Volodymyr Zelensky and ‘spirit of Ukraine’ take magazine accolade

The upcoming end of the year has brought with it end-of-year-lists, with the highly-anticipated winner of Time Magazine’s Person of the Year accolade announce. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been chosen for his courage in resisting the Russian invasion of his country.

Zelensky, who has been Ukrainian president since 2019, became one of the most recognisable faces of 2022. His international reach skyrocketed as he led, and continues to lead, his country in the fight against Russia after Vladimir Putin’s troops marched over the border into Ukraine in February 2022.

The profile piece on Zelensky focused on his far-reaching influence on all aspects world culture, including appearances in the House of Commons, Glastonbury and the Grammy Awards. The former actor and comic was applauded by the international community for his decision to stay in Kyiv and fight for his country’s freedom despite having an opportunity to flee.

The ‘Person of the Year’ accolade is one of the most prestigious handed out by Time. It is traditionally given to an individual, group, or event which has made a large impact on the past year.

Other nominee on the list for 2022’s award included protesters in Iran, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and tech mogul Elon Musk. Musk, who recently took over social media site Twitter, won the 2021 award after his car company Tesla becme one of the most powerful companies in the world.

What did Time Magazine say about Volodymyr Zelensky?

The president has been chosen alongside ‘the spirit of Ukraine’, with the magazine’s editor Edward Felsenthal saying that Ukrainians had united the world in the past 12 months. He said: “In a world that had come to be defined by its divisiveness, there was a coming together around this cause, around this country.”

The choice to award Zelensky and the people of Ukraine was described as the “most clear-cut in memory” by Felsenthal. He added: “The spirit of Ukraine was embodied by countless individuals inside and outside the country.”

He also commended Zelensky’s efforts in keeping attention on Ukraine by hammering his country’s message home. Felsenthal said: “In an alternate reality where someone else had been leading Ukraine, there might or might not be a Russian flag flying over the parliament building in Kyiv.”