Voted Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" for 1985 was the reform-minded Chinese leader. What was his name?

In 1985, Time Magazine selected Deng Xiaoping as its "Man of the Year" for the second time, the first being in 1978. This recognition was a testament to the profound economic changes he was instituting in the People's Republic of China. After the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong, Deng orchestrated a dramatic shift in the nation's direction. His "Reform and Opening Up" policy, initiated in 1978, began to move China away from a strictly centrally-planned economy and towards a more market-oriented system.

These reforms, which challenged long-held Marxist orthodoxies, were having a significant impact by the mid-1980s. The commune system in agriculture was dismantled, giving peasants more control over their land and production, which led to a substantial increase in agricultural output. Deng's government also established Special Economic Zones, which attracted foreign investment and spurred rapid industrial growth. This new economic direction aimed to achieve the "Four Modernizations" in agriculture, industry, defense, and science and technology.

By opening China's economy to the outside world, Deng's policies led to a significant rise in the standard of living for many Chinese citizens and set the stage for the country's emergence as a global economic power. Time's selection highlighted the global significance of these transformative changes, which were reshaping not only China but also its relationship with the rest of the world. His pragmatic approach to economic policy, famously summarized in his statement, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice," encapsulated the spirit of his reforms.