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Time picks Germany's Merkel as Person of the Year

Washington - She is the first individual woman to hold the title since Corazon Aquino in 1986, though women have been honoured as part of a group.

Time magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its 2015 'Person of the Year' on Wednesday, noting her resilience and leadership when faced with the refugee crisis and turmoil in the European Union over its currency this year.
She is the first individual woman to hold the title since Corazon Aquino in 1986, though women have been honoured as part of a group.
In a statement explaining the magazine's choice, managing editor Nancy Gibbs said despite crises in the region that caused "reason to wonder whether Europe could continue to exist", Merkel, 61, emerged as an "indispensable player".
"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," Gibbs wrote.
In response to the news, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told a government news conference: "I am sure the chancellor will cherish this as an incentive in her job." - Reuters