TIME Announces 2017 Person of the Year Shortlist

December 4, 2017 207 Views No Comment

The shortlist of candidates for TIME’s 2017 Person of the Year was unveiled Monday morning on NBC’s Today. Since 1927, TIME has identified the Person of the Year, recognizing the person or group of people who most influenced the news during the past year, for better or for worse.

In recent years, the shortlist for Person of the Year has included Hillary Clinton, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Black Lives Matter activists, CRISPR scientists and Beyoncé.

In alphabetical order, the 10 finalists selected by TIME editors this year are:

Jeff Bezos

The Amazon CEO became the richest man in the world this year and continues to expand the global reach of his retail empire.

The Dreamers

Dreamers — thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children — face uncertain futures if the Trump Administration follows through on plans to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Some Democrats have threatened to force a government shutdown if the legal status of Dreamers is not resolved.

Patty Jenkins

The Wonder Woman director broke numerous box-office records this year. After becoming the first woman to direct a film that made more than $100 million in its opening weekend, she signed on to direct a highly anticipated second installment in the boundary-breaking franchise.

Kim Jong Un

The North Korean leader has renewed the threat of nuclear war in American minds, launching repeated intercontinental ballistic missile tests and exchanging threats and insults with President Trump, who dubbed him “Rocket Man.”

Colin Kaepernick

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was unable to find an NFL suitor this year after launching a national protest against racism and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. Yet the protest grew this year, as hundreds of NFL players kneeled during the anthem in the wake of criticism from President Trump.

The #MeToo movement

The movement — which aims to shed light on the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault — took off after bombshell allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein and dozens of other male leaders in Hollywood, media, business and politics, fueling a moment of reckoning about the treatment of women in the workplace.

Robert Mueller

Appointed as special counsel following FBI Director James Comey’s firing, Mueller has brought charges against four people so far as he investigates potential involvement of the Trump campaign in Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The 32-year-old crown prince, the son of King Salman, recently led a sweeping crackdown on businessmen and members of the royal family accused of corruption — a purge seen by many as a move to consolidate power.

Donald Trump

President Trump, who was named 2016 Person of the Year, has spent his first year in the Oval Office attempting to dismantle the work of the Obama Administration, from health care to immigration policy, environmental regulations to tax reform, all while continuing to spark feuds and controversy with an unfiltered Twitter feed.

Xi Jinping

The President of China was given a second five-year term this year and was written into the Communist Party’s constitution, achieving new authority and reinforcing his status as the country’s most powerful leader in decades.

The 2017 Person of the Year will be unveiled on Wednesday.

Source: Time