Time Magazine's choice for the person who made the single biggest impact in 2011 is the protesters.
The pick reflects the importance of demonstrations in 2011 - from the occupied Arab spring on Wall Street and the recent Russian rallies.
The news magazine said the award recognizes demonstrators for "redefining the power of the people" all over the world.
Runner-up was Admiral William McRaven, commander of the U.S. raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
He was of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, whose secret detentions sparked this year by authorities in Beijing an international outcry followed.
Next came U.S. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, the architect of a conservative budget planning, that an ideological firestorm triggered in the spring.
Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, Prince William will marry in April, rounded out the short-list.
Editor Rick Stengel noted that protesters had been the driving force behind the biggest news of the year.
"They disagreed, she demanded that they do not despair, even when the answers came back in a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets," said Stengel.
"They literally embodies the idea that individual actions can collectively bring about enormous changes."
Last year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was Time's Person of the Year.
Other winners in recent years, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, President Barack Obama, U2 front man Bono, President George W. Bush and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos have contained.
In 2006, Time chose "You" as the person of the year to reflect the growing power of social media.
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