Greta Thunberg Named TIME’s Person of the Year for 2019

After receiving a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and launching global strikes for the environment, Greta Thunberg has something new to add to her list of accomplishments. The 16-year-old climate activist has been named TIME's Person of the Year for 2019.

TIME compiles an annual list of individuals and groups that, "for better or for worse [...] has done the most to influence the events of the year." On December 11, TIME revealed that Greta Thunberg was chosen from the finalists to appear on the cover of its Person of the Year issue. According to The Washington Post, the Swedish teenager is the youngest person to receive the honor.

Since leading her first student strike for climate action in 2018, Greta Thunberg has grown a movement of young people fighting for the future of their planet. TIME magazine writes in its profile, "she has succeeded in creating a global attitudinal shift, transforming millions of vague, middle-of-the-night anxieties into a worldwide movement calling for urgent change. She has offered a moral clarion call to those who are willing to act, and hurled shame on those who are not. She has persuaded leaders, from mayors to Presidents, to make commitments where they had previously fumbled."

In 2019, Greta Thunberg morphed from a rising star in activist circles to a household name. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in March, and in August, she traveled by ship to North America to participate in climate protests and deliver a speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit.

Over the past decade, TIME's Persons of the Year have included Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Pope Francis, and Donald Trump. As TIME writes, Thunberg stands out from this field in that she is "not a leader of any political party or advocacy group [...] she’s not a billionaire or a princess, a pop star or even an adult." Despite this, clearly and effectively sharing her message, that “we can’t just continue living as if there was no tomorrow," as she tells the magazine, has been enough to garner global attention.