TIME reveals 2015 Person of the Year
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been chosen as TIME's Person of the Year for 2015.
She was one of eight final candidates on TIME's shortlist, which included ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Black Lives Matter activists, Caitlyn Jenner, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Donald Trump.
See notable moments in Merkel's tenure as chancellor:
"In a year where world leaders were tested all through the year, no one was tested the way she was," TIME Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs said Wednesday on "The Today Show."
Gibbs explained the decision in even more detail on TIME:
Not once or twice but three times this year there has been reason to wonder whether Europe could continue to exist, not culturally or geographically but as a historic experiment in ambitious statecraft. Merkel had already emerged as the indispensable player in managing Europe's serial debt crises; she also led the West's response to Vladimir Putin's creeping theft of Ukraine. But now the prospect of Greek bankruptcy threatened the very existence of the euro zone. The migrant and refugee crisis challenged the principle of open borders. And finally, the carnage in Paris revived the reflex to slam doors, build walls and trust no one.
Each time Merkel stepped in.
Gibbs revealed the top 5 candidates during her "Today" appearance as well, which included Hassan Rouhani at number five and Black Lives Matter activists at four.
Angela Merkel is TIME’s 2015 Person of the Year #TIMEPOYhttps://t.co/Be7EjFlRS2pic.twitter.com/3YLPZJYSlq
— TIME (@TIME) December 9, 2015
Trump nabbed the third place spot on the list, and Gibbs insisted he may have a chance to win the in future, despite his incendiary comments making waves today.
"If he who breaks all the rules can live to play another day, then he writes the new rules," Gibbs said, noting that a presidential candidate has never won the title before.
"If he thinks he deserves it he has the whole next year to let the voters decide that," she added.
ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi took the second place spot.
Find out who else won the title over the years:
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