12 People, 12 Months: Those That Shaped 2013

US President Barack Obama on January 20 was sworn in for a second term darkened by strife at home and abroad, in rituals stripped of the hope and promise of his first inauguration four years ago.

Obama used his first State of the Union address in his second term on February 12 to return focus on his "unfinished task" of reigniting the economic growth for middle-class Americans. He also made another bid to seek public support for a broad agenda including long-time divisive issues of immigration reform, gun control and climate change.

However, the first year of his second term is not smooth. On September 30, The White House Office of Management and Budget announced the first federal government shutdown in 17 years.

2013/02 - Park Geun-hye was sworn in as South Korea's first female president on February 25, pledging economic revival, educational system overhaul and restoring trust between the two Koreas.

"The new administration will usher in a new era of hope premised on a revitalizing economy, the happiness of our people, and the blossoming of our culture," Park said in an inauguration speech delivered to some 70,000 people gathered in front of the parliament for the ceremony.

The 61-year-old vowed to root out "unfair practices" that stifled the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, reform the educational system to allow more room for creativity and bring about "flourishing culture."

2013/04 - Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who led the country throughout the 1980s, died on April 8 following a stroke at the age of 87.

She was the first female head of state in the West, gaining the nickname the "iron lady." She, among a number of Western and Eastern politicians remembered from that era, is a prominent figure.

During her 11 consecutive years as prime minister, Thatcher experienced the climax of the Cold War and the prelude to the collapse of the Soviet Union. She also signed the joint declaration with the Chinese government to hand over Hong Kong and led Britain to victory in the war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, or Malvinas. She was considered a towering figure and played an important, though limited, role in restoring the British economy.

Since the first publication in June by The Guardian newspaper, millions of Americans, most of whom for the first time, found themselves exposed to a mass intelligence program code-named PRISM.

More classified information, involving the participation of major US telecommunications companies, was revealed after 30-year-old whistleblower Edward Snowden arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.

The US government was quick enough to bring three felony charges against Snowden, namely conveying classified information to an unauthorized party, disclosing communications intelligence information, and theft of government property.

On August 1, the former CIA technical assistant received temporary asylum in Russia for one year, and moved to a safe place from the airport.

Prince William's office said that the royal couple have named their new-born baby boy, George Alexander Louis.

Kate Middleton gave birth to the baby boy weighing 3.8 kg on July 22. And the public got their first glimpse of the royal family's newest member on the next day when William, Kate and their new-born son left St. Mary's hospital in London.

Crowds gathered outside and cheered as the royal couple and their baby walked outside. Kate said it was such a special time and that her son's arrival has been very emotional. She said that any family must know how she and her husband felt. William drove the car himself while leaving the hospital with his family.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), emerged as the biggest winner in the federal election on September 22.

The pair garnered 41.5 percent of the vote, while the largest opposition party, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), took 25.7 percent, according to the results.

On December 17, Merkel was reelected in a vote in the lower house of parliament for a third term, and her coalition government will be sworn into office to rule Europe's biggest economy for the next four years.

The Canadian writer Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, on October 10.

Munro, 82, is the 13th woman to win the award. The jury of the Nobel Prize commented Munro as "master of the contemporary short story." She is acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling, which is characterized by clarity and psychological realism, said the Swedish Academy in a statement.

Munro has published many collections including "Who Do You Think You Are?" (1978), "The Moons of Jupiter" (1982), "Runaway" (2004), "The View from Castle Rock" (2006) and "Too Much Happiness" (2009).

"Her stories are often set in small town environments, where the struggle for a socially acceptable existence often results in strained relationships and moral conflicts -- problems that stem from generational differences and colliding life ambitions," the Academy said.

Tributes have been pouring in from around the world to South Africa's late president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, who passed away on December 5 at the age of 95.

In a nationally televised address, South African President Jacob Zuma said Mandela died peacefully at his Johannesburg home after a prolonged lung infection.

Nearly 100 high-profile guests, including current and former heads of state or government, attended the memorial service for Mandela on December 10 in Johannesburg, together with tens of thousands of people.