The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel has been named the 2015 TIME magazine person of the year, the Independent reports.

The prestigious title was announced both on TIME's website and NBC’s Today Show in New York on Wednesday, December 9.

Merkel leads the way, coming before Isis leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in second place and Republican candidate Donald Trump in third.

Nancy Gibbs, the editor of TIME wrote that the Chancellor was awarded the title for "asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply."

She also praised Merkel, the first woman to be named the title for 29 years, for her leadership during the refugee crisis.

"At a moment when much of the world is once more engaged in a furious debate about the balance between safety and freedom, the Chancellor is asking a great deal of the German people, and by their example, the rest of us as well.

"... By viewing refugees as victims to be rescued rather than invaders to be repelled, the woman raised behind the Iron Curtain gambled on freedom."

Merkel was revealed as one of the eight shortlisted candidates on Monday.

The other finalists shortlisted for the accolade, in order, were Al-Baghdadi (2nd), Trump (3rd), Black Lives Matter activists (4th), Hassan Rouhani (5th), Travis Kalanick (6th) and Caitlyn Jenner (7th).