TIME Unveils Finalists for 2014 Person of the Year

2 minute read
By Laura Stampler

TIME’s editors named eight final candidates for the 2014 Person of the Year on Monday.

TIME managing editor Nancy Gibbs revealed the shortlist on NBC’s Today show. Here are the eight still in the final running, in no particular order:

  • The Ferguson protesters, who took to the streets in August following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer, and again in November when a grand jury declined to indict the officer in the killing.
  • The Ebola caregivers, who are still fighting the biggest Ebola outbreak in history, that has so far taken the lives of nearly 7,000 people in West Africa.
  • Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who has remained in the headlines throughout this year, from his country’s stewardship of the Winter Olympics in Sochi to its annexation of Crimea, and its role in the ongoing civil strife in eastern Ukraine.
  • Taylor Swift, one of the world’s top-selling pop artists, who this year shook up the music industry by pulling her music from streaming service Spotify, which she believes should compensate artists more.
  • Jack Ma, an English teacher turned founder and CEO of Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant which debuted a $25 billion IPO.
  • Tim Cook, who introduced Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple Watch, and Apple Pay this year, and whose decision to come out made him the first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO.
  • Masoud Barzani, the acting president of the Iraqi Kurdish Region since 2005, who has deftly threaded the region’s push for independence with the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria.
  • Roger Goodell, the National Football League commissioner whose leadership has been under great scrutiny this year as the league dealt with public incidents of domestic abuse by players such as Ray Rice, among other controversies.

    • MORE: Everything You Wanted to Know About TIME’s Person of the Year

    Gibbs will unveil TIME’s Person of the Year on Today on Wednesday morning, when it will also be shared on Twitter and Facebook. Readers have already made their choice, picking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their favored candidate in TIME’s online poll.

    See Every Person Of The Year Cover Ever

    Photograph by Mark Mahaney for TIME
    Portrait by Jason Seiler for TIME
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    2018: The GuardiansPhotographs by Moises Saman-Magnum Photos for TIME
    TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence BreakersBilly & Hells for TIME
    2016: Donald Trump person of the year
    2016: Donald TrumpTIME
    TIME person of the year angela merkel 2015
    2015: Angela MerkelTIME
    TIME Person of the Year 2014 Magazine Cover: The Ebola Fighters 141222
    2014: The Ebola FightersTIME
    2013: Pope Francis
    2013: Pope FrancisTIME
    2012: Barack Obama
    2012: President Barack ObamaTIME
    2011: The Protester
    2011: The ProtesterTIME
    2010: Mark Zuckerberg
    2010: Mark Zuckerberg TIME
    2009: Ben Bernanke TIME
    2008: Barack Obama
    2008: President Barack ObamaTIME
    2007: Vladimir Putin
    2007: Vladimir PutinTIME
    2006: YouTIME
    2005: The Good Samaritans: Bill Gates, Bono, Melinda Gates
    2005: The Good Samaritans: Bill Gates, Bono, Melinda GatesTIME
    2004: President George W. Bush
    2004: President George W. BushTIME
    2003: The American Soldier
    2003: The American SoldierTIME
    2002: The Whistleblowers
    2002: The Whistleblowers: Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley and Sherron Watkins TIME
    2001: Rudy Giuliani
    2001: Rudy Giuliani TIME
    2000: President George W. Bush
    2000: President George W. BushTIME
    1999: Jeff Bezos
    1999: Jeff BezosTIME
    1998: Kenneth Starr ad Bill Clinton
    1998: Kenneth Starr and Bill ClintonTIME
    1997: Andrew Grove
    1997: Andrew GroveTIME
    1996: Dr. David HoTIME
    1995: Newt GingrichTIME
    1994: Pope John Paul II
    1994: Pope John Paul IITIME
    1993: The Peacemakers: Yitzhak Rabin, Nelson Mandela, F.W. De Klerk, Yasser ArafatTIME
    TIME COVERS - THE 90'S
    1992: President Bill ClintonTIME
    1991: Ted Turner
    1991: Ted TurnerTIME
    1990: President George H.W. BushTIME
    1989: Mikhail Gorbachev
    1989: Mikhail GorbachevTIME
    1988: Endangered EarthTIME
    1987: Mikhail Gorbachev
    1987: Mikhail GorbachevTIME
    1986: Corazon Aquino
    1986: Corazon AquinoTIME
    1985: Deng Xiaoping
    1985: Deng XiaopingTIME
    1984: Peter Ueberroth
    1984: Peter UeberrothTIME
    1983: President Ronald Reagan and Yuri Andropov
    1983: President Ronald Reagan and Yuri AndropovTIME
    1982: The ComputerTIME
    1981: Lech Wałęsa
    1981: Lech Wałęsa TIME
    1980: President Ronald Reagan
    1980: President Ronald ReaganTIME
    1979: Ayatollah Khomeini
    1979: Ayatollah KhomeiniTIME
    1978: Deng Xiaoping
    1978: Deng XiaopingTIME
    1977: Anwar Sadat
    1977: Anwar SadatTIME
    1976: President Jimmy CarterTIME
    1975: American Women
    1975: American WomenTIME
    1974: King FaisalTIME
    1973: John Sirica
    1973: John SiricaTIME
    1972: President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger
    1972: President Richard Nixon and Henry KissingerTIME
    1971: President Richard Nixon
    1971: President Richard NixonTIME
    1970: Willy Brandt
    1970: Willy BrandtTIME
    1969: The Middle Americans
    1969: The Middle AmericansTIME
    1968: The Apollo 8 astronauts
    1968: The Apollo 8 AstronautsTIME
    1967: President Lyndon B. Johnson
    1967: President Lyndon B. JohnsonTIME
    1966: Men and Women 25 and UnderTIME
    1965: William Westmoreland
    1965: William WestmorelandTIME
    1964: Lyndon B. Johnson
    1964: Lyndon B. JohnsonTIME
    1963: Martin Luther King, Jr.
    1963: Martin Luther King, Jr.TIME
    1962: Pope John XXIII
    1962: Pope John XXIIITIME
    1961: President John F. Kennedy
    1961: President John F. KennedyTIME
    1960: U.S. Scientists
    1960: U.S. ScientistsTIME
    1959: President Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1959: President Dwight D. EisenhowerTIME
    1958: Charles de Gaulle
    1958: Charles de GaulleTIME
    1957: Nikita Khrushchev
    1957: Nikita KhrushchevTIME
    1956: The Hungarian Freedom FighterTIME
    1955: Harlow Curtice
    1955: Harlow CurticeTIME
    1954: John Foster Dulles
    1954: John Foster DullesTIME
    1953: Konrad Adenauer
    1953: Konrad AdenauerTIME
    1952: Queen Elizabeth II
    1952: Queen Elizabeth IITIME
    1951: Mohammad Mossadegh
    1951: Mohammad MossadeghTIME
    1950: The American Fighting Man
    1950: The American Fighting Man TIME
    1949: Winston Churchill
    1949: Winston ChurchillTIME
    1948: President Harry S. Truman
    1948: President Harry S. TrumanTIME
    1947: George MarshallTIME
    1946: James F. Byrnes
    1946: James F. ByrnesTIME
    1945: President Harry S. Truman
    1945: President Harry S. TrumanTIME
    1944: Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1944: Dwight D. EisenhowerTIME
    1943: George Marshall
    1943: George MarshallTIME
    1942: Joseph Stalin
    1942: Joseph StalinTIME
    1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt
    1941: President Franklin D. RooseveltTIME
    1940: Winston Churchill
    1940: Winston ChurchillTIME
    1939: Joseph Stalin
    1939: Joseph StalinTIME
    1938: Adolf Hitler
    1938: Adolf HitlerTIME
    1937: Chiang Kai-shek and Soong May-ling
    1937: Chiang Kai-shek and Soong May-lingTIME
    1936: Wallis Simpson
    1936: Wallis SimpsonTIME
    1935: Haile Selassie
    1935: Haile SelassieTIME
    1934: President Franklin D. Roosevelt
    1934: President Franklin D. RooseveltTIME
    1933: Hugh S. Johnson
    1933: Hugh S. JohnsonTIME
    1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt
    1932: Franklin D. RooseveltTIME
    1931: Pierre Laval
    1931: Pierre LavalTIME
    1930: Mahatma Gandhi
    1930: Mahatma GandhiTIME
    1929: Owen D. Young
    1929: Owen D. YoungTIME
    1928: Walter Chrysler
    1928: Walter ChryslerTIME
    TIME Man of the Year 1927: Charles Lindbergh
    1927: Charles LindberghTIME

    Read next: Narendra Modi Wins Reader Poll for TIME Person of the Year

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