The doctor turned despot kept his grip on power. Still he sits uneasily on his contaminated throne. As Syria disintegrates, …
POY
Edith Windsor, The Unlikely Activist
In her ninth decade, she started a judicial odyssey, fighting a battle she never expected to wage—let alone win. Now she’s the matriarch of the gay-rights movement
Edward Snowden, The Dark Prophet
He pulled off the year’s most spectacular heist. Exiled from his country, the 30-year-old computer whiz has become the doomsayer of the information age
Ted Cruz, TIME Person of the Year Runner-Up
In 2013, the audacious upstart shut down the government on a hopeless quest to stop the President’s signature policy. Love him or hate him, he is a vision of the future