TIME unveiled its shortlist for 2018's Person of the Year Monday morning on NBC's "Today" show. Among those named is President Donald Trump, who was given the title in 2016, and was also on the shortlist in 2017.
TIME has featured a Person of the Year since 1927. The title is not necessarily an award or an honor, rather the magazine makes a selection each year of a person who has most influenced the world "for good or ill."
The title is sometimes given to a group of people or an abstract concept. Last year, TIME named selected "The Silence Breakers," or the people who spoke up and sparked a national conversation on sexual harassment and assault, as its Person of the Year. American Women (1975) and the computer (1982) have been named in the past.
TIME's first selection was Charles Lindbergh, the first person to make a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic.
Here is this year's short list, in alphabetical order:
Ryan Coogler
The 32-year-old director created this year's wildly successful Marvel movie, Black Panther. The superhero movie is set in the fictional African country of Wakanda. The film had the third-highest grossing U.S. release of all time, and was the first film to be screened in Saudi Arabia in 35 years, ending the country's ban on movie theaters.
Christine Blasey Ford
Ford, a psychology professor at Stanford University, became a national figure after accusing then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers. Her powerful testimony to the Senate made headlines around the world, and sparked conversations about why many women never go public with their sexual assault experiences. Kavanaugh was ultimately confirmed by the Senate.
Jamal Khashoggi
Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian journalist and critic of the Crown Prince Mohammed in Salman. Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He is believed to have been murdered on the orders of the Crown Prince. The Saudi government initially denied the account of his murder, but contradicted its story multiple times when explaining how Khashoggi died.
Meghan Markle
American actress Meghan Markle found her happily ever after this year when she married Prince Harry of England. Her royal wedding captivated crowds across the U.K and millions more worldwide. The Duchess of Sussex, as she is now formally known, is expecting her first child with Prince Harry in the Spring.
March for Our Lives Activists
The March for our Lives rally was held in Washington D.C and led by the student survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The official event in D.C attracted hundreds of thousands of participants, with sister rallies happening across the nation. The students protested against gun violence, and went on to organize a U.S. tour encouraging people to register to vote in the 2018 midterm elections.
Moon Jae-In
Moon has grabbed headlines since being voted into office as South Korea's president last year. Moon held a historic summit with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, marking the first time a North Korean leader had stepped into South Korea since the end of the Korean War.
Robert Mueller
The Special Counsel is responsible for investigating the Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, as well as key figures involved in President Trump's campaign and administration. The investigation has resulted in more than 191 criminal charges against 32 people and three companies. The former FBI Director was featured as a runner up for TIME's 2017 Person of the Year.
Vladimir Putin
Putin secured a landslide victory in Russia's elections in March, extending his term for another six years. The Russian president was named TIME's Person of the Year in 2007, and continues to make headlines for his government's alleged attempts to intervene with the U.S Presidential election.
Donald Trump
President Trump was named TIME's Person of the Year in 2016, after his presidential victory, and also made the shortlist last year. The 45th President of the United States spent his second year in office navigating an investigation into his presidential election and enacting several controversial policies including the separations of families at the border and the trade sanctions against China.
Separated Families
At the height of the issue this summer, more than 2,500 children were separated from their parents at the U.S-Mexico border. Immigration officials separated the families as a part of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. The separations sparked global outrage from politicians and humanitarians alike.