New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani was crowned Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Sunday, awarded for showing “superhuman strengths at a time when the entire country was being tested”.
“This was about September 11 and about how in the immediate aftermath of the attacks in those crucial hours, one person took emotional charge in a way that was extraordinary,” reports Time magazine’s managing editor, Jim Kelly. “He led by emotion, not just by words and actions, and in an emotional year like this one, he deserved to be Person of the Year.”
“I was very humbled and very moved by Time,” said the outgoing mayor. “I believe that I wasn’t selected. I believe the people of New York were selected as People of the Year.”
Some suspected US President George W Bush – last year’s Person of the Year – would again grace the cover. And while he made the shortlist, editors felt Giuliani was the stronger choice. “Giuliani managed to touch us emotionally in a way that nobody else did, including the president,” says Kelly.
The award, first presented in 1925, was conceived by Time founder Henry Luce to recognise “the person who most affected the news or our lives, for good or for ill, this year”.
Osama bin Laden was among the contenders this year, however, editors reportedly feared a backlash. Soviet leader Josef Stalin was Person of the Year in 1939 and again in 1942, while Adolph Hitler received the title in 1938.<
“We are dealing here with bin Laden, yes, an evil man, but not a man who deserves to stride the world stage,” says Kelly. “We chose Giuliani because of his courage on Sept 11 and afterwards, because a very human man showed superhuman strengths at a time when the entire country was being tested.”
Rudy finishes his second four-year term as mayor on December 31 and plans to open a private consulting firm. Billionaire Republican Michael Bloomberg steps into office on the first of the year.
The Time issue featuring Rudy Giuliani hits newsstands on Monday.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
