Walesa named Time's Man of the Year

Polish labor leader Lech Walesa has been named Time magazine's Man of the Year. The lowly electrician, who became ''one of history's more improbable heroes'' in his battle for freedom in Communist Poland, and his movement have made a travesty of communism's pretensions, said Time magazine of the independent Solidarity labor movement founder who now is being held incommunicado by the Polish government.

Every year the title goes to the person who, in the judgment of the magazine's editors, has had the most impact, for good or ill, on the course of events over the past year.