The only representative of architects among thinkers is Zaha Hadid

New York - Writer Milan Kundera and economist Tomáš Sedláček have made it onto the list of the most influential thinkers of this year compiled based on selections made by editors from leading global media. While Kundera is ranked among the top hundred influential public figures in the entire world, led by Pope Francis, Sedláček appears in the order of intellectuals influencing German-speaking countries.

The top positions in the global ranking include Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, Bangladeshi Nobel laureate in economics Muhammad Yunus, Turkish Nobel Prize-winning writer Orhan Pamuk, and American Edward Snowden, who revealed the practices of American intelligence services. Kundera is placed 84th in this ranking.

Sedláček was evaluated as the 87th most influential thinker in the German-speaking area. The greatest influence on thought in German-speaking countries is held by Snowden, British architect of Iraqi descent Zaha Hadid, former Pope Benedict XVI, Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, and Russian chess player and politician Garry Kasparov. Except for Benedict, who was born in Germany, all these individuals are not native German speakers.

The personalities in the ranking were nominated by major global media, and the analysis of their influence was contributed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The event is organized by the American newspaper The Huffington Post in collaboration with the Swiss research institute Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute.