German chancellor Angela Merkel has been named Time magazine's 'Person of the Year.'
The 61-year-old German leader, who is only the fourth woman to take the title outright, was praised by editor Nancy Gibbs for providing "steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply."
Ms Gibbs wrote: "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'."
Mrs Merkel was lauded for her handling of the Greek debt crisis, the Paris terror attacks, and the European refugee situation, as well as what the magazine called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "creeping theft of Ukraine."
Ms Gibbs said: "Each time Merkel stepped in. Germany would bail Greece out, on her strict terms. It would welcome refugees as casualties of radical Islamist savagery, not carriers of it.
"And it would deploy troops abroad in the fight against ISIS [Islamic State]. You can agree with her or not, but she is not taking the easy road. Leaders are tested only when people don't want to follow."
Controversially, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi came in second place, followed by US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Activist group Black Lives Matter, which campaigns in the US against violence towards black people was in fourth place, while Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was fifth.
Six place went to US entrepreneur and Uber founder Travis Kalanick, and Caitlyn Jenner - born Bruce Jenner, who changed gender in 2015, was seventh.
Mrs Merkel is the first woman to receive the coveted title in 29 years, making her only the fourth individual female winner since 1927.
The eclectic list of previous People of the Year includes Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, and Richard Nixon.
In response to the news, Mrs Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said: "I am sure the chancellor will cherish this as an incentive in her job."
