a katz/Shutterstock.com
Hillary Clinton is America’s Most-admired Woman for a Record 20th Year
The runner-up this year was the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.
For the 14th consecutive year and the 20th year overall, Hillary Clinton is the woman whom Americans are likely to say they admire most—a record for anyone, male or female, in the the open-ended poll conducted by Gallup annually since 1948.
The most admired man in 2015 is Clinton’s erstwhile Democratic rival and, she hopes, predecessor, US president Barack Obama; he has been in the No. 1 spot eight times, tying former US president Bill Clinton. (Former president Dwight Eisenhower holds the record for most admired man, a title he held 12 times, while former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt was the most-admired woman 13 times.)
The runners-up this year were the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai on the women’s side and, in a hilarious tie, Pope Francis and Donald Trump among the men.
The poll tends to include major political figures more than any other type of person. But in terms of the most top 10 finishes, Gallup’s pollsters note that the people with the greatest number of appearances aren’t elected officials, but rather the reverend Billy Graham, perhaps the most important evangelical leader in the US during the 20th century (he made the poll’s top 10 list 57 times), and England’s Queen Elizabeth II (a top 10 finisher 47 times).
With 24 appearances in the top 10, Clinton has a ways to go to catch up—but she has officially tied her husband now for top 10 finishes, while racking up an additional No. 1 finish to bring her total to 20, versus her husband’s eight.
(Top image via a katz / Shutterstock.com )