Greta Thunberg has been named person of the year by Time Magazine in 2019. The 16 year old Swedish climate activist is the youngest person to be granted with this honour.
Thunberg gained international attention for excoriating world leaders for their inaction in the climate crisis in a viral speech she made at the UN Climate Action Summit in September. She again criticized world leaders again at the COP25 conference last week.
“Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet—and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture that is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote.
Each year, the magazine features the most influential person, group, movement or idea of the previous 12 months.
Last year, it was “The Guardians,” a group of journalists who have been targeted or assaulted for their work. In 2017, it was “The Silence Breakers,” the group of people who came forward to report sexual misconduct. This marks the third year in a row in which Time has named a person who was not a world leader.
