It was a year in which she buttonholed Russian president Vladimir Putin, helped spearhead United Nations Security Council resolutions on Ukraine and Syria and brokered a deal in Baghdad to send Australian special forces to Iraq.

Now Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's high profile and rising popularity has earned her the title Woman of the Year, according to Australian magazine Harper's Bazaar.

In an interview with the magazine, Ms Bishop reiterated that she does not describe herself as a feminist and denied that former prime minister Julia Gillard was treated badly because she was a woman.

"Stop whinging, get on with it and prove them all wrong," said Ms Bishop when asked what advice she would give to women.

"Please do not let it get to you and do not become a victim, because it's only a downward spiral once you've cast yourself as a victim."

The Foreign Minister also reflected on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July, revealing that Russia's ambassador to the United Nations was moved to tears by stories of the Australian child victims.

Ms Bishop was lobbying the ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, to support a resolution allowing for the safe recovery of remains from the crash site.

"I got the sense he didn't want to be having this conversation with me," Ms Bishop said.

"I kept bringing it back to the people who had been on that plane.

"And when I spoke in detail about the Maslin children, that's when he kept telling me, 'Stop. Stop saying that.' He said, 'I know [of] these children. I have children of my own.'

"That's when he welled up and looked away."

Ms Bishop's approval ratings have nearly doubled in five months, according to a Fairfax Ipsos poll released last week, but she remains coy about any leadership ambitions.

"I went into federal politics with the secret hope [of becoming] Foreign Minister. It's the greatest opportunity I could ever wish for. I am living my dream," she told the magazine.

AAP/ABC