Zelenskyy, spirit of Ukraine named 2022 TIME Person of the Year
TIME magazine has named Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader whose attempt to fight off Russia’s invasion of his country has won widespread acclaim, as its person of the year, alongside “the spirit of Ukraine.”
“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelensky galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” Edward Felsenthal, editor-in-chief of TIME explained Wednesday.
“In the weeks after Russian bombs began falling on Feb. 24, his decision not to flee Kyiv but to stay and rally support was fateful. From his first 40-second Instagram post on Feb. 25 — showing that his Cabinet and civil society were intact and in place — to daily speeches delivered remotely to the likes of houses of Parliament, the World Bank, and the Grammy Awards, Ukraine’s President was everywhere,” Felsenthal added.
Zelensky’s unlikely career path has taken him from comic actor to wartime president in the space of only a few years. He became president of Ukraine in April 2019, at the age of 41, having spent his previous years as a performer, starring in romantic comedies and co-founding a successful TV production company.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, he gained new fame as an international audience watched his impassioned video addresses from the streets of the shell-damaged capital, Kyiv, where he stayed, despite intelligence indicating he was a key target for the Russian invaders and a US offer of evacuation.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, sings the Ukrainian national anthem during his visit to the city of Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
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MacKenzie Scott arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 4, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. The megadonor and novelist announced almost $2 billion in donations to 343 organizations in a short blog post Monday, Nov, 14, 2022, emphasizing her interest in supporting people from underserved communities.
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Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis takes to the stage to debate his Democratic opponent Charlie Crist in Fort Pierce, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2022.
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People attend a protest near Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, sponsored by Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, as gun violence survivors and hundreds of gun safety supporters demand that Congress act on gun safety issues.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen waits for a meeting with President Joe Biden and business and labor leaders to begin on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington.
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Aviator Charles A. Lindbergh stands in front of his plane "The Spirit of St. Louis" in New York in before his historic solo flight to Paris, May 20, 1927. (AP Photo)
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Chrysler Corporation merged with Dodge in 1928. Construction on the Chrysler Building in New York began that year as well.
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Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, at right, is greeted by Owen D. Young shortly after the governor's arrival at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Nov. 3, 1932, where he delivered a speech at a rally held under the auspices of the Republicans For Roosevelt Club. (AP Photo)
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Mahatma Ghandi surrounded by his followers during his Civil Disobedience Campaign around March 31, 1930. (AP Photo)
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Premier Pierre Laval of France and his daughter Mlle. Josette Laval on board the official welcoming tug Macom as they arrived in New York City on Oct. 22, 1931. The French premier arrived in this country to talk with President Hoover about smoothing over the cares of the world. The reception to them was one of the largest seen in New York in some time. (AP Photo)
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Democratic presidential nominee, Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, drives through the streets on Sept. 21, 1932 in Butte, Montana. Roosevelt is traveling through Montana in his campaign drive to the Pacific Northwest. Roosevelt is touring as Democratic presidential candidate. (AP Photo)
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General Hugh S. Johnson, recovery administrator, left, buys the new special stamp issued in honor of the National Industrial Recovery Drive, from Postmaster General James A. Farley, in the cashier's window in Washington, Aug. 15, 1933. (AP Photo)
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt is shown on the back of his train, Sept. 26, 1934. (AP Photo)
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The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, in 1935. (AP Photo/Alfred Eisenstaedt)
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Wallis Simpson, second from right, poses for photographers at the Herman Rogers villa, in Cannes, France, shortly before King Edward VIII abdicated the throne, Dec. 14, 1936. From left to right: Lord Brownlow, lord-in-waiting to the now Duke of Windsor; Katherine Rogers, Simpson and Herman Rogers. (AP Photo)
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They were named "Man and Wife of the Year."
Gen. Chiang Kai-shek and his wife, Soong Mei-ling, are photographed in the garden of their home at Nanchang, China, on Oct. 1, 1927. Chiang Kai-shek, also known as Jiang Jieshi, succeeded Sun Yat-sen as leader of the National People's Party, KMT. Mei-ling Soong is a graduate of Wellesley College in the U.S.A. (AP Photo)
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Nearly a million people packed the Mayfield to hear German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini speak. Both dictators made pledges of peace. A striking study of Adolf Hitler during his speech in Berlin, on Sept. 28, 1937. (AP Photo)
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A smiling General Joseph V. Stalin raises his right hand in salute while reviewing a May Day Parade, in Moscow, May 1, 1946. Photo from Russian film. (AP Photo)
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Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, gives his world famous V-sign, as he drives through cheering inhabitants of the town of Metz, in France, on July 14, 1946, to take part in the Bastille Day celebrations. With him is Robert Schuman, the French Minister of Finance. (AP Photo)
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U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 1941 at 3:08 p.m. EST. Watching from left to right are, Rep. Sol Bloom, D-N.Y.; Rep. Luther Johnson, D-Texas; Rep. Charles A. Eaton, R-N.J.; Rep. Joseph Martin, R-Mass.; Vice President Henry A. Wallace; House Speaker Sam Rayburn, D-Texas; Rep. John McCormack, D-Mass.; Sen. Charles L. McNary, R-Ore.; Sen. Alben W. Barkley, D-Ky.; Sen. Carter Glass, D-Va.; and Sen. Tom Connally, D-Texas. (AP Photo)
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill, left, and Joseph Stalin share a joke during their historic conference in Moscow on Sept. 13, 1942. (AP Photo/Official British Photograph)
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Gen. George. C. Marshall, chief of staff of United States Army, seated at his desk in his office in Washington on Nov. 4, 1943, before a portrait of Gen. John J. Pershing, under whom he served as a staff officer in the First World War. (AP Photo)
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Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower March, 1944, when as commander of invasion forces, he prepared for the invasion of Europe. Standing beside like was British Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur W. Tedder. In left background was British Field Marshal Montgomery. (AP Photo)
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Harry S. Truman takes the oath of office for President of the United States shortly after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, April 12, 1945. (AP Photo)
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U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, on the day that he was appointed by President Truman, in his office, on July 2, 1945. (AP Photo)
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Secretary of State George C. Marshall sits behind a group of microphones in Washington, D.C., at the conclusion of his radio report to the nation on the foreign ministers' conference in Moscow, April 28, 1947. Marshall said that Premier Stalin told him that compromises are possible on the great issues splitting the wartime allies. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)
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This 1948 portrait of Harry S. Truman at his White House office desk. (AP Photo)
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Winston Churchill goes aboard the liner Queen Elizabeth at Southampton, England on March 18, 1949 en route for USA. (AP Photo)
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Troops of the U.S. First Cavalry Division march in a single line on each side of the empty road through the town of Pohang, where they landed, toward the South Korean front on July 18, 1950. This is the first amphibious operation since World War II. (AP Photo/Charles P. Gorry)
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Iranian Premier Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh appears in October 1951. Mossadegh, a strict nationalist, was prime minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953. He was twice appointed to office by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran, and approved by the vote of parliament, but was removed from power by the shah in 1953. (AP Photo)
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, wave to supporters from the balcony at Buckingham Palace, following her coronation at Westminster Abbey. London, June. 2, 1953. (AP Photo/Priest)
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West Germany’s Chancellor, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, gets an American handshake from little David Smith, 3, of San Francisco at the legion of honour at San Francisco,California, United States on April 11, 1953. The Chancellor made a brief sightseeing trip through the city. (AP Photo)
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Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, left, and President Dwight Eisenhower confer at the President's summer white house office at Lowry Air Force base in Denver, Colo., Sept. 12, 1954 upon Dulles' return from the meeting of southeast Asia nations. (AP Photo/stf)
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President Dwight Eisenhower poses with Harlow H. Curtice, retiring chairman of the President's Committee for Traffic safety, and William Randolph Hearst, Jr., left, new committee head, at the White House on Jan. 21, 1959 in Washington. The committee reported that highway fatalities declined in 1959 for the second year in a row. Curtice is a former president of the General Motors Corp. Hearst is president of the Hearst Consolidated Publications. (AP Photo)
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Wearing the colors of Hungary as armbands. “Freedom fighters” move along the Austro-Hungarian Border near Hegyeshalom Oct. 27, 1956 there continued conflicting reports from inside Hungary whether the rebels were still able to carry on their fight to wrest control of Hungary from soviet domination. The Hungarian red cross reported 10, 000 had been wounded in five days of rioting thus far. (AP Photo)
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Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev addresses a huge rally in the Lenin sports stadium in Moscow, April 10, 1958, after his return to the Soviet Union from an official visit to Hungary. A crowd of about 15,000 gathered in the stadium to hear him. Behind are various soviet officials. (AP Photo)
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Outgoing President of the French Republic Rene Coty shaking hands with the newly elected President, General Charles de Gaulle, right, on his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on Dec. 23, 1958. (AP Photo/Mar)
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a letter to Gov. William Quinn of Hawaii, notifying him of the signing of the Hawaii statehood bill, March 18, 1959. (AP Photo/Charles Gorry)
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A prime nuclear reactor is outside its test cell at Jackson Flats, northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada on May 18, 1960 where scientists are using it to test nuclear power theories. They hope to build a nuclear rocket booster capable of lifting a five-ton satellite into orbit by 1965. (AP Photo)
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President Kennedy talks with his predecessor Dwight Eisenhower, during an interlude in inaugural ceremonies at the Capital on Washington, January 20, 1961. (AP Photo)
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Pope John XXIII sits at his desk in the private library of the Vatican to record a radio and television address in this September 1962, photo. Within three months of his election Pope John announced a general council to "throw open the windows," of the church and rid it of medieval trappings. (AP Photo)
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FILE - In this Aug. 28, 1963 file photo, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. (AP Photo/File)
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President Lyndon B. Johnson delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, Jan. 8, 1964. Speaking in the House of Representatives, the chief executive said one of his aims was "unconditional war on poverty in America." In background from left are: Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts and Sen. Carl Hayden of Arizona. (AP Photo)
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Gen. William C. Westmoreland talks with officers and men of the battalion of the 18th regiment of the second brigade of the U.S. First infantry division in a field near Bien Hoa, Vietnam in this August 1965 photo. (AP Photo)
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Beatniks, hippies and young people in general mill about MacDougal Street during a protest in New York's Greenwich Village, March 18, 1966. This was the second night an attempt was made by police to "clean up the garbage" in the Village. (AP Photo/John Lent)
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President Lyndon B. Johnson, right, confers with military leaders in the second floor sitting room of the White House in Washington, July 13, 1967. From left are: Gen. Earle Wheeler, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. William Westmoreland, U.S. commander in Vietnam; and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. After the meeting Johnson announced, "We have reached a meeting of the minds" on escalation in the Vietnam War. (AP Photo)
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Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell Jr., and William A. Anders (l to r) pose in front of the Saturn V rocket in Cape Kennedy, Florida, Oct. 22, 1968 which will shoot them into space later this year. The three astronauts may be the first men to orbit the moon on their projected eight-day mission. (AP Photo)
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The assembly line at the Ford Motor Company's Dearborn, Mich., plant is seen as parts of cars are built, 1970. (AP Photo)
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The Rev. Billy Graham, left, is received by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt in Bonn, Germany on April 14, 1970. (AP Photo/Heinrich Sanden)
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President Richard M. Nixon delivers his State of the Union message to a joint session of Congress in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, 1971. Behind the president are Vice President Spiro Agnew, left, and House Speaker Carl Albert. (AP Photo)
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U.S. President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En Lai review Chinese troops at Nixon's departure from Beijing to Hangchow to continue his China visit, Feb. 26, 1972. First lady Pat Nixon and National Security adviser Henry Kissinger are seen walking behind Nixon and Chou. (AP Photo)
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U.S. District Court Judge John Sirica, is seen in his office in Washington, Jan. 31, 1973. (AP Photo)
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Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with King Faisal in 1974. (AP Photo)
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First lady Betty Ford, wife of U.S. President Gerald Ford, is seen in this 1975 photo. (AP Photo)
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President-elect Jimmy Carter waves after voting in the election in which his brother Billy Carter is a candidate for Mayor, Dec. 6, 1976, Plains, Ga. The rest of the group is unidentified. (AP Photo)
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President Anwar Sadat of Egypt gestures to photographers during first session of the Israel-Egypt peace talks with Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin, December 25, 1977. (AP Photo)
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China's Senior Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, left, is greeted by workers at a Nippon Steel Corp. steel mill at Kimitsu, south east of Tokyo Thursday, Oct. 26, 1978 after crossing Tokyo Bay by a hovercraft. Deng and his party will leave for Kansai, western Japan, later in the day. (AP Photo)
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FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 20, 1979 file picture, demonstrators march through the streets of Tehran as they demand the foundation of an "Islamic Republic" with Ayatollah Khomeini as their leader. The popular revolt against the shah raised alarm bells in the West, which saw the shah as a trusted ally and counterweight to hard-line Arab regimes and Palestinian radicals. The face of the revolution was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose demeanor, vehemently anti-American rhetoric and stern interpretation of Islam challenged not only Western interests but also Western values. (AP Photo/Saris)
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Ronald Reagan, former California governor and announced candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, greets a group of schoolchildren on his arrival in Stamford on Jan. 17, 1980. Reagan was in Stamford to speak before a group of Stamford businessmen. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
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Supporters carry Polish labor leader Lech Walesa on their shoulders outside the Supreme Court at Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 10, 1981. The crowd awaits a court ruling on the rights of farmers to form a trade union. (AP Photo)
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Microcomputers wait for customers at a shop in Akihabara, the electronics marketing district of Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 1982. Japan shares the computer craze wit the United States, and reports that Japanese computer specialists conspire to steal U.S. computer giant IBM's trade secrets and hardware made front page news in Japan. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
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Soviet President Yuri V. Andropov, left, is pictured with Czech President Gustav Husak, upon Andropov's arrival at Prague's airport, January 3, 1983. Warsaw treaty delegations are attending sessions of the political Consultative Committee, January 4. (AP Photo/K. Mevald)
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Juan Antonio Samaranch, right, president of the International Olympic Committee, and Peter Ueberroth, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, light candles on a cake celebrating Samaranch's 64th birthday in Los Angeles, July 17, 1984. The cake was presented during a joint press conference by the two officials. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)
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U.S. Vice-President George H. W. Bush, right, and China's top leader, Deng Xiaoping meet in Beijing, China, Oct. 13, 1985. Interpreters in center are unidentified. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich)
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Opposition presidential candidate Corazon Aquino addresses thousands of Filipinos during a campaign rally at Tigaon, south of Manila, Jan 11, 1986. The biggest crowd yet of the Philippine presidential election campaign greeted Mrs. Aquino in the opposition stronghold region of Bicol, south of Manila. (AP Photo/Val Rodriguez)
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Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev tells a gathering of world figures in Moscow at the Kremlin the Soviet Union has adopted a "new approach" on human rights, Monday, Feb. 16, 1987. Dissident Andrei Sakharov was among those in the audience. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko)
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An empty rain gauge sticks up from a post on a farm in Marne, Iowa, June 23, 1988. (AP Photo/John Gaps III)
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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is besieged by deputies carrying notes demanding the floor meeting of the new Soviet Congress in Moscow on Friday, May 26, 1989. The body re-elected Gorbachev as Soviet President on Thursday. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko)
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Pres. George H. W. Bush, left, talks to reporters on Air Force One as First Lady Barbara Bush, right, looks on, Feb. 9, 1990. Bush defended his military bases and tough talk on defense issues at a time of dramatic changing on in Moscow, saying the timing happened to be fortuitous. (AP Photo/Robert Daugherty)
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Actress Jane Fonda, right, waits for Ted Turner as he talks to reporters in New York, Nov. 20, 1991. Turner received the "Spirit of Liberty" award from People for the American Way for his work in expanding the scope of freedom of the press around the world. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton reaches out to shake hands with students from Notre Dame University after his speech, Friday, Sept. 11, 1992 in South Bend, Indiana. Clinton spoke to the crowd about service to community and tolerance of diversity. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
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President F.W. de Klerk (right) shakes hands with African National congress President Nelson Mandela (right) at the World Trade Centre near Johannesburg, on Thursday, Nov. 18, 1993. The two leaders met after negotiators finished work on an interim constitution and bill of rights for a post-apartheid South Africa. (AP Photo/David Brauchli)
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Pope John Paul II meditates by the grave of his former friend, geneticist Jerome Lejeune, an ardent abortion opponent who had close ties with the Vatican, during a private visit at the Chalo-Saint-Mars cemetery outside Paris Friday, Aug. 22, 1997. Two months before Lejeune died in 1994, John Paul named the scientist to lead the Pontifical Academy for Life, a creation of the pope s that promotes Catholic teaching against abortion. (AP Photo/Arturo Mari, Pool)
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House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Ga., gestures as he makes a point during his weekly “Town Hall Meeting” in Kennesaw, Georgia, Saturday, Jan. 14, 1995. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
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Director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and 1996 Time Magazine's "Man of the Year", David Ho, left, talks with the Founder of Nautica and Founder and CEO of DC Design International, David Chu, at the Asia Society's 25th Annual Dinner Gala to honor outstanding leaders in business and government where Chu was honored, Tuesday, May 31, 2005, in New York. (AP Photo/Jennifer Szymaszek)
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George Nikitin
Andrew Grove, Intel Chairman (left) and Intel design team members, Avtar Saini (right) and Andy Grove watch a demonstration of the new Pentium chip, after a press conference, on Monday, March 22, 1993 in Santa Clara, Calif., where Intel Corp. unveiled their new chip. The new chip runs existing computer software applications about five times as fast as Intel’s latest 486 processor. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)
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In this Nov. 19, 1998 file photo, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr holds up his report while testifying on Capitol Hill, before the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearing. (AP Photo/Joe Marquette)
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FILE - In this Nov. 9, 1999 file photo, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon holds a large, stuffed Pikachu Pokemon doll as he talks about the company's expansion at a New York news conference. Amazon launched at the dawn of the Web as an online bookseller on July 16, 1995. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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ERIC GAY
Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush holds up a "W" during a campaign rally at Raymond Jones Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 5, 2000. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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ROBERT F. BUKATY
New York Gov. George Pataki, left, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, center, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., tour the site of the World Trade Center disaster, in this Sept. 12, 2001, file photo. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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Prosecution witness and former Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins is followed by the media after testifying in the fraud and conspiracy trial of former Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling Wednesday, March 15, 2006 in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
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U.S. soldiers patrol a street in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 3, 2003. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
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President George W. Bush addresses the Republican National Convention in New York City, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
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Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp., center, and his wife Melinda, left, walk on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Dec. 5, 2005. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds health programs for the poor in Bangladesh. Woman at right is unidentified. (AP Photo/Gazi Sarwar)
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JAE C. HONG
This meant content creators on the Internet.
Show attendees walk past Motorola booth on the opening day of Cellular Communications and Internet Association convention in Las Vegas, Wednesday, April 5, 2006. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a nationwide address in Moscow on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007. President Vladimir Putin on Thursday strongly urged Russians to cast ballots for the main pro-Kremlin party United Russia whose ticket he's leading in Sunday's parliamentary vote. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service )
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Morry Gash
President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle and Vice president-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill take the stage after Obama delivered his victory speech at the election night party at Grant Park in Chicago, Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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Lawrence Jackson
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, before the House Financial Services Committee. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
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Paul Sakuma
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg smiles during an announcement in San Francisco, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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Frank Franklin II
In this Sept. 17, 2011 photo, demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement gather to call for the occupation of Wall Street in New York. Monday, Oct. 17, 2011 marks the one-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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John Ehlke
President Barack Obama addresses the crowd during a campaign stop in Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Pavilion on the Summerfest Grounds on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/West Bend Daily News, John Ehlke)
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Andrew Medichini
Pope Francis celebrates his installation Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013.
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Jerome Delay
FILE - In this Thursday Nov. 20, 2014 file photo, an MSF Ebola health worker is sprayed as he leaves the contaminated zone at the Ebola treatment centre in Gueckedou, Guinea. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
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Axel Schmidt
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a debate at the German parliament, the Bundestag in Berlin on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. Germany's Parliament will vote on a four-month bailout extension for Greece with a large majority of lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc signaling their backing. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt)
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John Locher
President-elect Donald Trump pumps his fist after giving his acceptance speech as his wife Melania Trump, right, and their son Barron Trump follow him during his election night rally, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Willy Sanjuan
Anita Hill, from left, Fatima Goss Graves and Alyssa Milano pose for a photo at a discussion about sexual harassment and how to create lasting change from the scandal roiling Hollywood at United Talent Agency on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)
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Michael Kunzelman
Trif Alatzas, publisher and editor in chief of Baltimore Sun Media, looks over a memorial at the University of Maryland's journalism school in College Park, Md., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, dedicated to the five Capital Gazette employees who were shot and killed in an attack on the Annapolis newspaper's office. (AP Photo/Michael Kunzelman)
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Kirsty Wigglesworth
Greta Thunberg walks in the Marina where the boat Malizia is moored, in Plymouth, England Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate change activist who has inspired student protests around the world, is heading to the United States this week -- in a sailboat. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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President-elect Joe Biden, right, shares the stage with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, left, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
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CEO Elon Musk departs from the justice center in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
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Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, sings the Ukrainian national anthem during his visit to the city of Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
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Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, is surrounded by soldiers during his visit in Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
“The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” he told the US, according to Ukraine’s embassy in Britain.
Felsenthal said “the spirit of Ukraine was embodied by countless individuals inside and outside the country.”
“For proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for stirring people and nations to come together in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy — and of peace — Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine are TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year,” Felsenthal said.
Zelensky follows Elon Musk as TIME person of the year for 2021. Russian President Vladimir Putin was TIME person of the year in 2007.
The title is not necessarily awarded as an honor, but indicates that the winner had influence on the world’s events.