Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Beyoncé, Lionel Messi, and Jennifer Coolidge in achieving a rare honour.
Mr Albanese has been named among Time Magazine‘s 100 most influential people in the world for 2023.
Every year, Time compiles a list of the 100 most influential people in the world in six categories, including artists, innovators, titans, leaders, icons and pioneers.
Mr Albanese is named among the world’s most influential leaders of 2023, with an introduction from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“From growing up in public housing to taking office last spring as Australia’s new Prime Minister, he is a symbol of hope and inspiration,” Mr Trudeau wrote.
“In a world where people are increasingly uncertain about what the future holds for them and their families, it’s easy for politicians to sow fear and division. To choose the path of hope and opportunity takes immense courage, and that courage lives within Anthony Albanese.”
Mr Albanese’s inclusion – which comes as he nears the end of his first year in office – follows similar honours for Kevin Rudd (who appeared in 2008) and John Howard (2005). His immediate predecessor, Scott Morrison, never made the list – despite holding plenty of other titles.
“Progressives around the world are united in the idea that we should leave no one behind,” Mr Trudeau, a close ally of Mr Albanese, wrote.
“The idea that no matter who you are or where you come from, you should have every chance to succeed in life. Few politicians embody that journey as Anthony Albanese does.”
Mr Albanese joins US President Joe Biden, US Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Ukraine’s war-time first lady Olena Zelenska, and new Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the leadership list.
Tweet from @TIME
Beyoncé, Messi and Coolidge were among a host of familiar faces honoured for their roles in art, music and sport. Others included Drew Barrymore, the King, Brittney Griner and Iga Swiatek.
Tennis legend Roger Federer lauded Messi’s “consistent greatness over so many years”.
“My career has just come to an end. I now realise how much weight we athletes carry. But in our daily lives, we don’t even realise it,” he wrote.
“For a football player like Messi, that weight likely feels more massive, as he represents both a world-renowned club and a very passionate country.”
Also getting a nod were the world’s second richest man Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger.
American journalist Kara Swisher wrote of Musk’s transformation into “the world’s richest online troll after his purchase of Twitter”.
“Under Musk’s erratic rule, Twitter has become a nonstop grievance tantrum we must all endure, and he wastes far too much of his time fiddling on his toxic violin while it burns. What’s the opposite of progress? Elon Musk 2023,” she wrote.
