Photos: Time 'Person of the Year' 2011: The Past 20 Years of Winners [PHOTOS]
By Cavan Sieczkowski | Dec 15, 2011 12:42 AM EDT
Time magazine has named "The Protester" its 2011 "Person of the Year."
Under the caption "From the Arab Spring to Athens, From Occupy Wall Street to Moscow," the illustration of a female Muslim woman is a powerful one. Of course, the choice is understandable. This year started off with the Arab Spring, a revolution that changed the face of the Middle East forever. Then it progressed, as demonstrators around the world took up the crusade to fight against injustices.
The magazine unveiled its choice on Wednesday morning. Managing editor Richard Stengel also went on NBC's "The TODAY Show" to reveal the choice. "There was a lot of consensus among our people," Stengel told the TODAY anchors. "It felt right."
"There's this contagion of protest," Stengel said Wednesday. "These people who risked their lives... I think it is changing the world for the better."
For the past 84 years, Time magazine has chosen who it deems to be the most influential person (or group of people). This individual has had the single greatest impact on the world over the past year.
Stengel told the audience that other finalists included Kate Middleton and Congressman Paul Ryan. Steve Jobs and Gabby Gifford did not make the short list, but they appear elsewhere in the magazine. "It's not a lifetime achievement award," Stengel said of the award.
Take a look at Time's past "Person of the Year" winners from the last 20 years.
"The Protester"
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Mark Zuckerberg
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Ben Bernake
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Barack Obama
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Vladimir Putin
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You
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Bono, Bill and Melinda Gates
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George W. Bush
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The American Solider
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The Whistleblowers
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Rudy Guiliani
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George W. Bush
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Jeff Bezos
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Kenneth Star, Bill Clinton
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Intel's Andrew Grove
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AIDS Researcher David Ho
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Newt Gingrich
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Pope John Paul
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Nelson Mandela, F.W. De Klerk, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin
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Bill Clinton
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CNN's Ted Turner
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