values

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

One of 24 questions in The Q&A here.

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On the record

Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.

Read by field Everyone Arts and letters 34 Politics and public life 4
Read by age Any age In their thirties 8 In their forties 4 In their fifties 11 In their sixties 6 Seventy and beyond 9
Barack Obama 44th President of the United States, 2009–2017; United States Senator from Illinois 2005–2008
People ask me sometimes, who inspires you, Mr. President? Those quiet heroes all across this country -- some of your parents and grandparents who are sitting here -- no fanfare, no articles written about them, they just persevere. They just do their jobs. They meet their responsibilities. They don't quit. I'm only here because of them. They may not have set out to change the world, but in small, important ways, they did. They certainly changed mine.

Recorded Barnard College, New York City, The White House (Obama administration archive), 14 May 2012 source ↗

Caroline Lucas
Jacinda Ardern, the former New Zealand prime minister – for embodying a different, more compassionate politics.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 April 2024 source ↗

Zack Polanski
Chlöe Swarbrick who is co-leader of the New Zealand Greens. She’s demonstrating the bold leadership that I look to do every single day.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 December 2025 source ↗

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