Year for 2015 on Wednesday, revealing her image on the cover of its
upcoming issue next to the title "Chancellor of the Free World."
Merkel, 61, is the first woman to receive the honor by herself in two
decades. The magazine cited her leadership in the refugee crisis, and
for helping keep the Euro afloat.
Editor Nancy Gibbs said Time chose the world leader "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."
Time also cited Merkel's strong response to Russian President
"Vladimir Putin's creeping theft of Ukraine."
Merkel, 61, is just the fourth woman since 1927 to be chosen and the
first since opposition leader Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines in
1986. She is the first German since Willy Brandt, the West German
chancellor named in 1970 for "seeking to bring about a fresh
relationship between East and West" during the Cold War. In 1999, Time
picked the German-born Albert Einstein as Person of the Century.
Wednesday's news came in as Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert was
leading a government press conference in the German capital, while
Merkel herself was at an event in Leipzig. When asked about it by The
Associated Press, Seibert said he had only just received word on his
phone himself.
"I'm sure the chancellor will regard this as an encouragement for her
political work, for a good future for Germany as well as for Europe,"
Seibert said.
The seven other finalists for 2015 included Donald Trump, Islamic
State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Caitlyn Jenner, the Black Lives
Matter protest movement, Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and
Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick.
"I told you (at)TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the
year despite being the big favorite," Trump tweeted soon after Time's
announcement. "They picked person who is ruining Germany."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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