Greta Thunberg named Time magazine’s Person of the Year

The magazine announced its choice during NBC’s Today show on Wednesday.

«She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement,» Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal told Today.

The photo of the activist to decorate the Time magazine cover is work of Russian-born Evgenia Arbugaeva.

In December, Time traditionally selects the winner who has done the most «to influence the events of the year» for better or for worse. The photo is featured on the magazine’s cover.

This year’s shortlist included US President Donald Trump, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, The Whistleblower (the anonymous CIA officer who launched the impeachment inquiry into Trump) and the Hong Kong protestors.

Greta Thunberg became known for giving a powerful speech to the UN calling for action over the environmental crisis. In her speech, the 16-year-old Thunberg accused the heads of state attending the UN climate summit of depriving her of her dreams and childhood with their empty promises. She warned global leaders against trying to maintain that enough was being done to fight pollution in the atmosphere. She ended the speech by pledging that the new generations would be closely monitoring the actions of the current governments.

Thunberg is also famous as an informal leader of the School Strike for Climate movement, which brings together thousands of young people who are concerned over global warming. The Swedish activist was also nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize and received a number of other awards.