Stars of Asia: 25 Leaders At The Forefront Of Change

For much of Asia, this year started in a blur of death and destruction. On Dec. 26 an earthquake erupted in the sea off Sumatra and a giant wave swept across the region, killing about 225,000 and destroying billions of dollars' worth of property, businesses, and infrastructure in coastal communities in Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka. All these societies were put to the test by the tsunami. Six months later plenty of rebuilding lies ahead, but the early predictions of mass starvation, social unrest, and epidemics of cholera, dysentery, and other diseases never came to pass. That's impressive -- even somewhat miraculous.

The tsunami and its aftermath produced hundreds of heroes. They range from simple fishermen and peasants who saved each other and each other's children from drowning, to local and foreign governments and aid agencies whose workers swarmed over the affected areas offering medical care, food, and temporary housing. For BusinessWeek's Stars of Asia we singled out two individuals for commendation: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who led a relief effort that fed and cared for tens of thousands of survivors, and Dr. Porntip Rojanasunan of Thailand, who spent 40 days working to identify the dead so that family members would have some closure.