48 Hours With Obama
Behind-the-scenes images of the President
The Choice
TIME’s editors on selecting 2012’s Person of the Year and the four people on our short list
Behind the Cover
Backstage at the making of the issue with images from the White House photo shoot at which Nadav Kander captured this year’s iconic cover image
The Data Miners
Secrets from the re-election geek squad
The Interview
Obama on Lincoln, marijuana, the Middle East and Hawaii moments
2012 Person of the Year Photos & Videos
The Shortlist
Runner-Up
Malala Yousafzai
In trying to silence this Pakistani schoolgirl, the Taliban amplified her voice. She is now a symbol of the struggle for women’s rights all over the world.
Runner-Up
Tim Cook
He inherited the most valuable company in the world from one of the greatest innovators in history. In 2012 he made Apple his own.
Runner-Up
Mohamed Morsi
Egypt’s new president won kudos abroad and curses at home. What he does next could determine the shape of the Middle East
Runner-Up
Fabiola Gianotti
Finding the tiny Higgs Boson took the biggest machine in the arsenal of physics — and help from one woman obsessed with the nature of reality
The Year in …
Person of the Year Archive
2011
No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent. In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints; they changed the world.
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» Buy This Cover
» Buy This Cover
» Buy This Cover
» Buy This Cover
» Buy This CoverTIME’s Person of the Year is bestowed by the editors on the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year. See who made the grade over TIME’s first eight decades.