Person of the Year' is an annual issue of TIME magazine that honors the person who has most influenced the news during the past year. The term refers to the person who has had the greatest impact on the world in the past year, and is chosen by the editors of TIME magazine. The first Person of the Year was Charles Lindbergh in 1927, and since then the title has been awarded to many prominent figures including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Pope John Paul II, Barack Obama, and Angela Merkel.