AGE: 65
OCCUPATION: President of the European Central Bank
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1
PRO: Trichet's firm hand on the tiller has business confidence up in the EU, despite (or perhaps because of) his refusal to follow the Fed's example and slash rates ahead of expected economic turmoil. And the Euro-conomy seems to have weathered a multibillion dollar fraud scandal at French bank Sociétée Générale.
CON: The strength of the Euro (especially compared to the weakness of the dollar) has many worried, including Trichet — he's had to defend his centralized policies against antsy export-hungry member nations desperate for a softer Euro.