Time and 100 Influential Figures in the World; Qassem Soleimani Ranked 13th Among Leaders

The American weekly "Time" announced its list of one hundred most influential personalities and officials, both governmental and non-governmental, from around the world in its first week of May issue. Among these one hundred, in addition to statesmen, politicians, and artists, some military figures are also included. The annual list by "Time" is prepared and presented based on the achievements, successes, and fame of individuals and, like previous years, includes heads of state, prime ministers, senior company executives, artists, and celebrities, but also features some lesser-known names for the readers of this weekly, individuals who are key players in inventions and discoveries, advancing human goals and ambitions, and whose genius helps untangle difficulties. The "Time" weekly begins this list with a description stating that "over the past year, the arena of political debates in America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia has been on a sharp edge and seems almost completely designed to create further divisions in human society." However, despite this palpable change that includes figures like Donald Trump, this year the emergence of names among the most influential officials has drawn the attention of "Time" readers. Among these names is Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who has been included in the list at the suggestion of Kenneth Pollack, a senior member of the Brookings Institution's Middle East Policy Center in Washington. Kenneth Pollack, an expert on Middle Eastern political and military issues with extensive studies on Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf monarchies, described Major General Qassem Soleimani as someone who evokes characters like James Bond, German General Rommel, and American pop star Lady Gaga for Shiites in the Middle East, stating that he is responsible in the Islamic Republic for exporting the revolution, supporting terrorists, overthrowing pro-Western governments in the region, and executing Iran's foreign wars. The introduction continues: "He is known as Haj Qassem and has commanded the Quds Force since 1990, being the financial master of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, and other terrorist groups fighting against Israel." Qassem Soleimani's name appears in the "Leaders" section at the thirteenth position, following notable figures such as Senator Chuck Schumer (Democratic minority leader in the U.S. Senate), Donald Trump, General James Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea. Interestingly, in the "Leaders" section, well-known figures such as Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates, the founder of the famous Microsoft company and the richest person in the world, and Pope Francis, the leader of Catholics, are also listed. Other influential figures include Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Islamist President of Turkey, Rodrigo Duterte, the President of the Philippines, Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Xi Jinping, the President of China. The names of Ivanka Trump, daughter of the 45th President of the United States, and her husband Jared Kushner are included in the list of prominent figures, along with seventeen notable artists mentioned as the most influential of 2017.