WASHINGTON — TIME Magazine nominated Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for its '100 Most Influential People' List for 2014.
The magazine named President Gül and Premier Erdoğan in the 'world' category among the people that voters think have changed the world this past year, for better or worse.
"Widely seen as the alternative to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey's ruling party, Gül has walked a fine line between party loyalty and counterbalancing Erdoğan's authoritarian streak," stated the Time magazine regarding Gül.
The magazine's comment for Premier Erdoğan is "Turkey's Prime Minister overcame antigovernment protests and a corruption scandal to score a huge win in local elections."
The 'world' category include names like Pope Francis, Bill Gates, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, and Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai who survived a 2012 assassination attempt by the Taliban because of her fight for girls' education.
Voting will be open until April 22, and 2014's official TIME 100 list will be announced on April 24.
