What does it take to be TIME's Person of the Year? Volodymyr Zelensky's global influence is a prime example

Back in February this year, few could have perhaps imagined the impact a comedian-turned-politician would have across the globe due to circumstances beyond his control.

This was the month when Ukraine was invaded by Russia in a major escalation of tensions that had existed since 2014.

And so emerged Volodymyr Zelensky - who took over as President of Ukraine in May 2019 after previously playing the role of president in the TV series Servant of the People.

His unlikely and unheard of route into Ukraine’s political limelight is now well-known and unlike his Russian counterpart, Zelensky’s leadership during the crisis - which has claimed tens of thousands of lives - is earning him international praise.

The 44-year-old has undoubtedly grown to represent the Ukrainian resistance and has now been awarded TIME’s Person of the Year for 2022 along with the ‘spirit of Ukraine’.

PeopleWorld takes a look at why Zelensky was the most appropriate person to be awarded the title and exactly what it takes to win the honour.

Why Zelensky is so fitting as Time Person of the Year 2022?

In the words of TIME Magazine’s Maxim Dondyuk, this year’s choice was “the most clear-cut in memory”.

As Russian bombs began falling from February 24 onwards, Zelensky chose not to flee the Ukranian capital Kyiv, but instead to be the voice that rallied his people in the face of Russian aggression.

The Ukrainian president set about to make it clear he wasn’t going anywhere with a post of his cabinet on February 25 - a platform he has regularly used since to share updates.

No one has worked harder to keep the situation in Ukraine in the public eye, and Zelensky’s previous profession as an actor probably served him well here.

He has successfully used the media - online and on our TV screens - to etch images of both Ukraine’s destruction and heroic victories into our brains.

Dondyuk adds: “For proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for stirring people and nations to come together in defence of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy—and of peace—Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine are TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year.”

As the world has grown increasingly divisive in recent years, Zelensky’s ability to bring people together was a timely reminder of our common causes.

What it takes to be TIME’s Person of the Year?

The award by American news magazine TIME is handed out once a year to the person who is thought to have had the biggest global influence in the previous 12 months.

TIME has previously stated that the award is given to someone "who affected the news or our lives the most, for better, or worse"

The decision is not made by readers or through a poll, instead the magazine’s editors solely make the decision

Before the title was changed to Person of The Year in 1999, the award was colloquially known as ‘Man of the Year’ - although three women had previously won it, including Queen ELizabeth II in 1952.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh was the first to be awarded the title in 1927 for his historic transatlantic flight, but in more recent years the ward has been given to Elon Musk (2021), Greta Thunberg (2019) and Donald Trump (2016).