Time Person of the Year facts for kids

Person of the Year (called Man of the Year or Woman of the Year until 1999) is an annual issue of the American news magazine and website Time featuring a person, group, idea, or object that "for better or for worse ... has done the most to influence the events of the year". The editors select the featured subject in a "secretive ... process." The Time website or a partner organization also runs an annual online reader's poll that has no effect on the selection, although no poll was held in 2023 or 2024.

Background

The tradition of selecting a "Man of the Year" began privately in 1927, with Time editors contemplating the news makers of the year after a series of "slow news days" leading up to New Year's Day. The idea originally focused on a Man of the Week before it was decided to use Lindbergh to represent the predominant story of 1927, with the magazine listing him as Man of the Year being published in early 1928.

The idea was also an attempt to remedy the editorial embarrassment earlier that year of not having aviator Charles Lindbergh on its cover following his historic transatlantic flight. By the end of the year, it was decided that a cover story featuring Lindbergh as the Man of the Year would serve both purposes.

Before the online poll was instituted, "readers were invited to weigh in by mail."

Selection

National leaders

Since the list began, every serving president of the United States has been a Man or Person of the Year at least once, with the exceptions of Calvin Coolidge (in office at the time of the first issue), Herbert Hoover (the subsequent president), and Gerald Ford (the only president never to have been elected to the office of president or vice president). Most were named Man or Person of the Year either the year they were elected or while they were in office; the only one to be given the title before being elected was Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1944, as Supreme Commander of the Allied Invasion Force, eight years before his first election. He received the title again in 1959 while in office. Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first chosen US president and is the only person to have received the title three times, first as president-elect (1932) and later as the incumbent president (1934 and 1941).

All countries' heads of state or government to have been chosen as Man, Woman, or Person of the Year (arranged in chronological order by country name, from the most frequently selected) are:

Winston Churchill was chosen a second time for the special "Man of the Half-Century" edition in 1949 while serving as Leader of the Opposition before his second premiership; Charles de Gaulle was chosen while being elected President of France before formally taking office; Lech Wałęsa and Nelson Mandela were chosen before being elected President of Poland and President of South Africa, respectively.

Women

Before 1999, four women were granted the title as individuals: three as "Woman of the Year"—Wallis Simpson (1936), Queen Elizabeth II (1952), and Corazon Aquino (1986)—and one as half of "Man and Wife of the Year", Soong Mei-ling (jointly with Chiang Kai-shek) in 1937. "American Women" were recognized as a group in 1975. Other classes of people recognized comprise both men and women, such as "Hungarian Freedom Fighters" (1956), "U.S. Scientists" (1960), "The Inheritors" (1966), "The Middle Americans" (1969), "The American Soldier" (1950 and 2003), "You" (2006), "The Protester" (2011), and "Ebola Fighters" (2014). However, the title on the magazine remained "Man of the Year" for both the 1956 "Hungarian Freedom Fighter" and the 1966 "Twenty-five and Under" editions which both featured a woman standing behind a man, and "Men of the Year" on the 1960 "U.S. Scientists" edition which exclusively featured men on its cover. It was not until the 1969 edition on "The Middle Americans" that the title embraced "Man and Woman of the Year".

In 1999, the title was changed to the gender-neutral "Person of the Year" (its first recipient under the new name being Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com). Women who have been selected for recognition after the renaming include "The Whistleblowers" (Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron Watkins) in 2002; Melinda Gates (jointly with Bill Gates and Bono) in 2005; Angela Merkel (2015); "The Silence Breakers" (2017); Greta Thunberg (2019); Kamala Harris (jointly with Joe Biden) in 2020; and Taylor Swift (2023). To celebrate International Women's Day in 2020, Time editors released 89 new magazine covers, each showing women, in addition to the 11 already chosen, as counterparts to the Man of the Year choices from the past century.

Since 2022, Time has awarded a separate "Women of the Year" title to a number of women each year, in a similar fashion to Time 100.

Groups and non-humans

Despite the name, the title is not just granted to individuals. Pairs of people such as married couples and political opponents, classes of people, and inanimate objects have all been selected for the special year-end issue.

Multiple named people

• Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling, president and first lady of China (1937)
• William Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell, crew of Apollo 8 (1968)
• Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, political allies (1972)
• Ronald Reagan and Yuri Andropov, Cold War rivals (1983)
• Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk; Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, political leaders leading peace negotiations (1993)
• Bill Clinton and Ken Starr, key figures in the Clinton impeachment (1998)
• Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron Watkins, whistleblowers (2002)
• Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Bono, philanthropists (2005)
• Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, American president-elect and vice president-elect (2020)

Classes of unnamed people

• The American fighting-man / The American soldier (1950 and 2003)
• The Hungarian freedom fighter (1956)
• U.S. scientists (1960)
• The Inheritor (1966)
• Middle Americans (1969)
• American women (1975)
• You (2006)
• The Protester (2011)
• Ebola fighters (2014)
• The Silence Breakers (2017)
• The Guardians (2018)

Inanimate objects

• The Computer (Machine of the Year, 1982)
• The Endangered Earth (Planet of the Year, 1988)

Abstract concepts

• The Spirit of Ukraine (2022)

Special editions

In 1949, Winston Churchill was named Man of the Half-Century, and the last issue of 1989 named Mikhail Gorbachev as "Man of the Decade". The December 31, 1999 issue of Time named Albert Einstein the "Person of the Century". Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi were chosen as runners-up. Aside from Einstein, the December 31 edition also named Persons of the Century for every century of the 2nd millennium: William the Conqueror for the 11th century, Saladin for the 12th century, Genghis Khan for the 13th century, Giotto for the 14th century, Johannes Gutenberg for the 15th century, Elizabeth I for the 16th century, Isaac Newton for the 17th century, Thomas Jefferson for the 18th century, and Thomas Edison for the 19th century.

Persons of the Year

Year	Image	Choice	Lifetime	Notes	Runners-up
1927		Lindbergh, CharlesCharles Lindbergh	1902–1974	Lindbergh completed the first solo transatlantic flight in May 1927 by piloting his monoplane Spirit of St. Louis from Garden City, New York to Paris, France.
1928		Chrysler, WalterWalter Chrysler	1875–1940	In 1928, Chrysler oversaw a merger of his company, Chrysler, with Dodge before beginning work on the Chrysler Building.
1929		Young, Owen D.Owen D. Young	1874–1962	Young chaired a committee which authored 1929's Young Plan, a program for settlement of German reparations after World War I.
1930		Gandhi, MahatmaMahatma Gandhi	1869–1948	Gandhi was the leader of India's independence movement. In 1930, he led the Salt Satyagraha, a 240-mile march to protest the imposition of taxes on salt by the British Raj.
1931		Laval, PierrePierre Laval	1883–1945	Laval was first appointed Prime Minister of France in 1931. He was popular in the American press at the time for opposing the Hoover Moratorium, a temporary freeze on World War I debt payments that was disliked in both France and the US.
1932		Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt	1882–1945	Roosevelt won the 1932 US presidential election by a landslide, defeating the incumbent, Herbert Hoover.
1933		Johnson, Hugh S.Hugh S. Johnson	1882–1942	In 1933, Johnson was appointed director of the National Recovery Administration. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave him the task of bringing industry, labor and government together to create codes of "fair practices" and set prices.
1934		Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt (2)	1882–1945	Roosevelt was President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. In 1934, Roosevelt's New Deal reforms were beginning to bring results.
1935		Selassie, HaileHaile Selassie	1892–1975	Selassie was Emperor of Ethiopia in 1935, when Italian forces invaded Ethiopia, starting the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
1936		Simpson, WallisWallis Simpson	1896–1986	In 1936, Simpson's relationship with King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom led the king to abdicate the throne to marry her.
1937		Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek	1887–1975	Chiang was Premier of the Republic of China at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.
		Soong Mei-LingSoong Mei-ling	1898–2003	Soong was wife of Chiang Kai-shek from 1927 until his death in 1975, and was active in rallying support for the Republic of China in the US. Addressed as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek by the magazine, she was recognized together with her husband as "Man & Wife of the Year".
1938		Hitler, AdolfAdolf Hitler	1889–1945	As Chancellor of Germany, Hitler oversaw the unification of Germany with Austria and the Sudetenland in 1938, after the Anschluss and Munich Agreement respectively. Instead of a conventional portrait, the cover was an illustration by Rudolph von Ripper entitled 'From the unholy organist, a hymn of hate'.
1939		Stalin, JosephJoseph Stalin	1878–1953	In 1939, Stalin was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Premier of the Soviet Union. He oversaw the signing of a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany before invading eastern Poland.
1940		Churchill, WinstonWinston Churchill	1874–1965	Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain.
1941		Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt (3)	1882–1945	Roosevelt was President of the United States in 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor, declaration of war against Japan and resulting entry of the United States into World War II. The editors had already chosen Dumbo as their "Mammal of the Year" before the Pearl Harbor attack, but quickly changed it to Roosevelt.
1942		Stalin, JosephJoseph Stalin (2)	1878–1953	By 1942, Stalin was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Premier of the Soviet Union, overseeing the Battle of Stalingrad (1942–1943).
1943		Marshall, George C.George C. Marshall	1880–1959	As United States Army Chief of Staff in 1943, General Marshall was instrumental in organizing US actions in World War II.
1944		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower	1890–1969	General Eisenhower was Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during 1944's Operation Overlord.
1945		Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman	1884–1972	Truman became President of the United States after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, authorizing the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1946		Byrnes, James F.James F. Byrnes	1882–1972	In 1946, Byrnes was United States Secretary of State during the Iran crisis of 1946, taking an increasingly hardline position in opposition to Stalin. His speech, "Restatement of Policy on Germany", set the tone of future US policy, repudiating the Morgenthau Plan economic policies and giving Germans hope for the future.
1947		Marshall, George C.George C. Marshall (2)	1880–1959	Appointed United States Secretary of State in 1947, Marshall was the architect of the Marshall Plan.
1948		Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman (2)	1884–1972	Truman was elected in his own right as President of the United States in 1948, which is considered to be one of the greatest election upsets in American history.
1949		Churchill, WinstonWinston Churchill (2)	1874–1965	Proclaimed as the "Man of the half-century", Churchill had led Britain and the Allies to victory in WWII. In 1949, Churchill was Leader of the Opposition.
1950		American fighting The American fighting-man		Representing US troops involved in the Korean War (1950–1953)
1951		Mossadegh, MohammadMohammad Mossadegh	1882–1967	In 1951, Mossadegh was appointed Prime Minister of Iran and expelled western oil companies, starting the Abadan Crisis.
1952		Elizabeth Elizabeth II	1926–2022	In 1952, Elizabeth acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms upon the death of her father, King George VI.
1953		Adenauer, KonradKonrad Adenauer	1876–1967	In 1953, Adenauer was re-elected as Chancellor of West Germany. Adenauer was overseeing the reconstruction of Germany and the Economic Miracle, had successfully restored relations with Germany's wartime enemies in the West, and was working towards European integration.
1954		Dulles, John FosterJohn Foster Dulles	1888–1959	As United States Secretary of State in 1954, Dulles was architect of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.
1955		Curtice, HarlowHarlow Curtice	1893–1962	Curtice was President of General Motors (GM) from 1953 to 1958. In 1955, GM sold five million vehicles and became the first corporation to earn US$1 billion in a single year.
1956		Hungarian The Hungarian freedom fighter		Representing Hungarian revolutionaries involved in the 1956 uprising against the Soviet-dominated government, which was put down by the Soviet Army
1957		Khrushchev, NikitaNikita Khrushchev	1894–1971	In 1957, Khrushchev consolidated his leadership of the Soviet Union, surviving a plot to dismiss him by Stalinist members within the Presidium, and leading the Soviet Union into the Space Race with the launch of Sputnik 1.
1958		de Gaulle, CharlesCharles de Gaulle	1890–1970	De Gaulle was appointed Prime Minister of France in May 1958 and, following the collapse of the Fourth Republic and establishment of the Fifth Republic, was then elected as President of France in December.
1959		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower (2)	1890–1969	Eisenhower was President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. In 1959, Eisenhower arranged the state visit by Nikita Khrushchev to the United States and toured several countries, becoming the first US president to visit India.
1960		Us Scientists U.S. Scientists		Time claimed in 1960 "science is at the apogee of its power for good or evil", although it noted that "the 15 men [on the cover] include two or three whose greatest work is probably behind them". The cover and piece spotlights the following scientists: George Beadle, pioneer of genetics Charles Draper, inventor of spacecraft inertial guidance systems John Enders, pioneer of polio and measles vaccines Donald A. Glaser, inventor of the bubble chamber Joshua Lederberg, discoverer of bacterial conjugation Willard Libby, contributor to radiocarbon dating Linus Pauling, pioneer of quantum chemistry and molecular biology Edward Purcell, co-discoverer of nuclear magnetic resonance Isidor Rabi, co-discoverer of nuclear magnetic resonance Emilio Segrè, discoverer of astatine, technetium and the antiproton William Shockley, co-inventor of the transistor Edward Teller, nuclear physicist and co-inventor of the hydrogen bomb Charles Townes, inventor of the maser James Van Allen, discoverer of the Van Allen radiation belt Robert Woodward, pioneer of organic synthesis
1961		Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy	1917–1963	Kennedy was inaugurated as President of the United States in 1961, ordering the failed invasion of Cuba by U.S.-trained Cuban exiles.
1962		John XXIII	1881–1963	Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963. In 1962, he volunteered as a mediator in the Cuban Missile Crisis between the U.S. and USSR, gaining praise from both sides. He also initiated the Second Vatican Council that same year.
1963		King Jr., Martin LutherMartin Luther King Jr.	1929–1968	A leader of the American Civil rights movement, King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.
1964		Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson	1908–1973	Johnson was elected in his own right as President of the United States in 1964, before securing the passage of the Civil Rights Act, declaring a War on poverty, and escalating US involvement in the Vietnam War.
1965		Westmoreland, WilliamWilliam Westmoreland	1914–2005	General Westmoreland was commander of US forces in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
1966		Inheritor The Inheritor		Representing a generation of American men and women, aged 25 and under – the Baby Boom generation, who in 1966 made up nearly half the population and were influential both in the counterculture of the 1960s and as drafted soldiers in the Vietnam War. The face most prominently seen on the cover representing the generation was that of Thomas M. McLaughlin.
1967		Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (2)	1908–1973	Johnson was President of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Time noted that it had been a year of setbacks and failures for Johnson, with race riots across the US, deepening involvement in the Vietnam War, and the Dump Johnson movement within his own party.
1968		Apollo The Apollo 8 astronauts	Frank Borman: 1928–2023 Jim Lovell: Born 1928 William Anders: 1933–2024	In 1968, the American crew of Apollo 8 (William Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell) became the first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit, orbiting the Moon and paving the way for the first human Moon landings in 1969.
1969		Middle Americans The Middle Americans		Conservative, small-town Americans, also referred to as the silent majority. Time saw Middle America as the driving force behind Richard Nixon's 1968 election win, the background of the American astronauts of Apollo 11, and the conservative side of debates on social issues such as school desegregation, prayer in public schools, among others.
1970		Brandt, WillyWilly Brandt	1913–1992	As Chancellor of West Germany, Brandt was acknowledged for "seeking to bring about a fresh relationship between East and West" through his "bold approach to the Soviet Union and the East Bloc". In 1970, Brandt renounced German claims on Poland and recognized East Germany, and acknowledged the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland with the symbolic Kniefall von Warschau.
1971		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon	1913–1994	Nixon was President of the United States from 1969 to 1974. In 1971, Nixon had withdrawn the US dollar from the gold standard, triggering the Nixon shock, created the Economic Stabilization Program, and re-opened relations with communist China.
1972		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (2)	1913–1994	As President of the United States, Nixon visited China in 1972, the first U.S. president to do so. Nixon later secured the SALT I pact with the Soviet Union before being re-elected in one of the largest landslide election victories in American history.
		Kissinger, HenryHenry Kissinger	1923–2023	Kissinger, as Nixon's National Security Advisor, traveled with the President to China in 1972, and was negotiating peace in the Vietnam War.
1973		Sirica, JohnJohn Sirica	1904–1992	In 1973, as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Sirica ordered President Nixon to turn over Watergate-related recordings of White House conversations.
1974		King Faisal Faisal	1906–1975	Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia, was acknowledged in the wake of the oil crisis of 1973–1974, caused by Saudi Arabia withdrawing its oil from world markets in protest at Western support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War.	5 Yasser Arafat Gerald Ford Henry Kissinger Richard Nixon Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1975		American women American women		Highlighting the successes of the American feminist movement and "the status of the everyday, usually anonymous woman, who moved into the mainstream of jobs, ideas and policy making". The cover and piece spotlights the following women: Susan Brownmiller, author of Against Our Will Kathleen Byerly, first female captain in the U.S. Navy Alison Cheek, first ordained Episcopalian minister Jill Conway, first female president of Smith College Betty Ford, politically active as First Lady of the United States Ella Grasso, first female Governor of Connecticut Carla Hills, first female United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Barbara Jordan, member of the United States House of Representatives Billie Jean King, tennis player and winner of the "Battle of the Sexes" Carol Sutton, first female editor of a major U.S. paper Susie Sharp, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court Addie Wyatt, vice president of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters trade union	9 Jerry Brown Hugh Carey Deng Xiaoping Gerald Ford Henry Kissinger Pat Moynihan Anwar Sadat Andrei Sakharov William Simon
1976		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter	Born 1924	In 1976, Carter was elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent President Gerald Ford.
1977		Sadat, AnwarAnwar Sadat	1918–1981	Sadat, as President of Egypt, traveled to Israel in 1977—the first Arab leader to do so—to discuss normalization of Egypt–Israel relations.
1978		Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping	1904–1997	Deng, as Vice Premier, overthrew Hua Guofeng to assume de facto control over China in 1978, as Paramount leader.	4 John Paul II Margaret Thatcher Paul Volcker Young Indochinese refugees
1979		Khomeini, RuhollahRuhollah Khomeini	1902–1989	Khomeini led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, establishing himself as Supreme Leader.	4 Jimmy Carter Howard Jarvis John Paul II Jim Jones
1980		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan	1911–2004	Reagan was elected President of the United States in 1980, defeating incumbent President Jimmy Carter.	4 The American hostages Herbert Boyer Leonid Brezhnev Lech Wałęsa
1981		Wałęsa, LechLech Wałęsa	Born 1943	Leader of the Polish Solidarity trade union and architect of the Gdańsk Agreement until his arrest by the communist authorities and the imposition of martial law in Poland in December 1981	4 Diana, Princess of Wales Ronald Reagan Space Shuttle Columbia "A weapon of terror"
1982		Computer The Computer		Denoted "Machine of the Year" to herald the dawn of the Information Age The feature spotlights the following people, in order: Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer John Opel, president and CEO of IBM Adam Osborne, founder of Osborne Computer Corporation Dan Bricklin, co-creator of VisiCalc Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International Clive Sinclair, founder of Sinclair Research	4 Menachem Begin E.T. Margaret Thatcher Paul Volcker
1983		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (2)	1911–2004	In 1983, as President of the United States, Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada and championed the Strategic Defense Initiative.	4 Harold Greene John Paul II Margaret Thatcher U.S. servicemen
		Andropov, YuriYuri Andropov	1914–1984	Andropov, as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was a critic of the Strategic Defense Initiative and tried to revive stagnating Soviet economy. Andropov was hospitalized in August 1983 and died in 1984.
1984		Ueberroth, PeterPeter Ueberroth	Born 1937	Ueberroth orchestrated the organization of the 1984 Summer Olympics, which involved a Soviet-led boycott.	4 José Napoleón Duarte Geraldine Ferraro Ronald Reagan The Terrorist
1985		Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping (2)	1904–1997	As Paramount Leader of China, Deng acknowledged the need for "sweeping economic reforms that have challenged Marxist orthodoxies". In 1985, Deng had lifted price controls and eased the restrictions on private ownership and business.	4 Bob Geldof Mikhail Gorbachev Nelson Mandela The Terrorist
1986		Aquino, CorazonCorazon Aquino	1933–2009	Aquino was a prominent figure in 1986's People Power Revolution, being elected president of the Philippines.	3 Mikhail Gorbachev Nelson and Winnie Mandela Oliver North
1987		Gorbachev, MikhailMikhail Gorbachev	1931–2022	As general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and leader of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev oversaw perestroika and glasnost political reforms in 1987, aimed at liberalizing Soviet society.	5 Óscar Arias William Casey Oliver North John Poindexter Ronald Reagan
1988		Endangered The Endangered Earth		Planet of the Year, representing the growing environmental movement as well as several natural and ecological disasters that struck in 1988: among them were the 1988–1989 North American drought, "syringe tide", 1988 Bangladesh cyclone and 1988 Armenian earthquake, as well as ozone depletion, global warming, radioactive contamination and deforestation.
1989		Gorbachev, MikhailMikhail Gorbachev (2)	1931–2022	Acknowledged as "Man of the Decade". Gorbachev, as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Soviet leader), oversaw 1989's first free Soviet elections in history before the fragmentation of the Eastern Bloc and overthrow of Soviet-dominated communist governments in Eastern Europe.
1990		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush	1924–2018	As President of the United States, Bush oversaw U.S. involvement in the Gulf War (1990–1991).	4 Saddam Hussein Helmut Kohl Nelson Mandela Boris Yeltsin
1991		Turner, TedTed Turner	Born 1938	Founder of CNN. The piece particularly highlighted CNN's coverage of Operation Desert Storm and the Gulf War, proclaiming it "History as it happens".	7 George H.W. Bush Dick Cheney Anita Hill Colin Powell Norman Schwarzkopf Clarence Thomas Boris Yeltsin
1992		Clinton, BillBill Clinton	Born 1946	Clinton was elected President of the United States in 1992, defeating incumbent President George H. W. Bush.
1993		Peacemakers The Peacemakers		Represented by Yasser Arafat, F. W. de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, and Yitzhak Rabin. De Klerk, as State President of South Africa, oversaw Mandela's release from prison in 1990. In 1993, the pair were negotiating the end of the Apartheid system, and had just jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize. Arafat, as President of the Palestinian National Authority, and Rabin, as Prime Minister of Israel, signed the 1993 Oslo Accord, the first face-to-face agreement between Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
1994		John Paul II	1920–2005	Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. In 1994, he had been active in several social debates: he released a book-length interview and the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ruled out the ordination of women, and established relations with Israel.
1995		Gingrich, NewtNewt Gingrich	Born 1943	Leader of the "Republican Revolution", a Republican Party election landslide, which led to Gingrich being elected Speaker of the House
1996		Ho, DavidDavid Ho	Born 1952	Ho, a scientist, pioneered much AIDS research. In 1996, he had announced that a medical trial of combination therapy had reduced the viral load in HIV-positive patients to levels too low to be measured, changing the disease profile from terminal to a manageable disease.
1997		Grove, AndrewAndrew Grove	1936–2016	In 1997, Grove was chairman and CEO of Intel, recognized as a pioneer in the semiconductor industry and taken as a representative of the Digital Revolution and the tech boom.	3 Diana, Princess of Wales Alan Greenspan Ian Wilmut
1998		Clinton, BillBill Clinton (2)	Born 1946	As President of the United States, Clinton was impeached in 1998 following the Lewinsky scandal. The Senate acquitted him of the charges.	5 Hillary Rodham Clinton John Glenn Alan Greenspan The Irish Peacemakers Mark McGwire
		Starr, KenKen Starr	1946–2022	Starr, a lawyer investigating various figures within the Clinton administration, published his Starr Report in 1998, opening the door for the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
1999		Bezos, JeffJeff Bezos	Born 1964	Bezos is the founder and was the CEO of Amazon.com, at that point one of the most successful companies in the dot-com boom.
2000		Bush, George W.George W. Bush	Born 1946	In 2000, Bush was elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent Vice President Al Gore.	4 David Boies Francis Collins J.K. Rowling Craig Venter
2001		Giuliani, RudyRudy Giuliani	Born 1944	Giuliani, Mayor of New York City at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001, was selected as a symbol of America's response to the attacks.
2002		Whistleblowers The Whistleblowers		Represented by Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron Watkins. In 2001, Watkins uncovered accounting irregularities in the financial reports of Enron, testifying before Congressional committees the following year. In 2002, Cooper exposed a $3.8 billion fraud at WorldCom. At the time, this was the largest incident of accounting fraud in U.S. history. In 2002, Rowley, an FBI agent, gave testimony about the FBI's mishandling of information related to the September 11 attacks of 2001.
2003		American soldier The American soldier (2)		Representing U.S. forces around the world, especially in the Iraq War (2003–2011)
2004		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2)	Born 1946	In 2004, Bush was re-elected President of the United States, defeating John Kerry and overseeing US involvement in the Iraq War.
2005		Good Samaritans The Good Samaritans		Represented by Bono, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates. Bono, philanthropist and member of the rock band U2, helped to organize the 2005 Live 8 concerts. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and richest person in the world at the time, and his wife Melinda, founded the philanthropic Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
2006		You You		Representing individual content creators on the World Wide Web	4 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad James Baker Hu Jintao Kim Jong-il
2007		Putin, VladimirVladimir Putin	Born 1952	Putin was President of Russia from 2000 to 2008, and from 2012 onwards. In 2007, it was apparent that Putin's power would continue after his presidential term expired: he had suppressed much of the opposition to his rule, and had secured his position as Prime Minister of Russia to his loyalist successor Dmitry Medvedev.	4 Al Gore Hu Jintao David Petraeus J. K. Rowling
2008		Obama, BarackBarack Obama	Born 1961	In 2008, Obama was elected President of the United States, defeating John McCain to become the first African-American President of the United States in January 2009.	4 Sarah Palin Henry Paulson Nicolas Sarkozy Zhang Yimou
2009		Bernanke, BenBen Bernanke	Born 1953	Chairman of the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis of 2007–08 and the following Great Recession	4 Usain Bolt The Chinese Worker Stanley McChrystal Nancy Pelosi
2010		Zuckerberg, MarkMark Zuckerberg	Born 1984	Founder of the social-networking website Facebook. In 2010, Facebook passed half a billion users but was involved in privacy disputes, and Zuckerberg had been the subject of the Oscar-winning biographical film The Social Network.	4 Julian Assange The Chilean Miners Hamid Karzai The Tea Party
2011		Protester The Protester		Recognizing the historic significance of many grassroots protests across the world during that year, such as the ongoing Arab Spring and those against austerity measures in Greece and later in Spain, against corruption in India, against the drug war in Mexico, for education in Chile, for social justice in Israel, as well as the riots in England, the anti-government protests in Russia and the emerging global Occupy movement	4 Ai Weiwei Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge William McRaven Paul Ryan
2012		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2)	Born 1961	In 2012, Obama was re-elected President of the United States, defeating Mitt Romney.	4 Tim Cook Fabiola Gianotti Mohamed Morsi Malala Yousafzai
2013		Francis	Born 1936	Elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI	4 Bashar al-Assad Ted Cruz Edward Snowden Edith Windsor
2014		Ebola Ebola fighters		"Ebola fighters" refers to health care workers who helped stop the spread of the Ebola virus during the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, including not only doctors and nurses, but also ambulance attendants, burial parties and others. Those represented on the covers included Jerry Brown, the medical director at the Eternal Love Winning Africa Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, Kent Brantly, a physician with Samaritan's Purse and the first American to be infected in the 2014 outbreak, Ella Watson-Stryker, a health promoter for Doctors Without Borders who is originally from the United States, Foday Gallah, an ambulance supervisor and Ebola survivor from Monrovia, Liberia, Salome Karwah, a trainee nurse and counselor from Liberia whose parents died of Ebola, Pardis Sabeti from the Broad Institute.	4 Masoud Barzani Ferguson protesters Jack Ma Vladimir Putin
2015		Merkel, AngelaAngela Merkel	Born 1954	Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021, recognized for leadership in the Greek debt crisis and European migrant crisis	6 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Black Lives Matter Caitlyn Jenner Travis Kalanick Hassan Rouhani Donald Trump
2016		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump	Born 1946	In 2016, Trump was elected President of the United States, defeating Hillary Clinton.	5 Beyoncé Hillary Clinton The CRISPR Pioneers Recep Tayyip Erdoğan The Hackers
2017		Silence Breakers The Silence Breakers		The people who spoke out against harassment. The feature also specifically spotlights, in order: actress Alyssa Milano activist Tarana Burke actress Selma Blair the seven plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Plaza Hotel politician Sara Gelser entrepreneur Lindsay Meyer dishwasher Sandra Pezqueda actress Rose McGowan psychotherapist and writer Wendy Walsh blogger Lindsey Reynolds housekeeper Juana Melara journalist Sandra Muller actor Terry Crews University of Rochester professors Celeste Kidd and Jessica Cantlon journalist Megyn Kelly journalist Jane Merrick producer Zelda Perkins European Parliament member Terry Reintke charity worker Bex Bailey art curator Amanda Schmitt filmmaker Blaise Godbe Lipman anonymous former office assistant.	6 Patty Jenkins Colin Kaepernick Kim Jong-un Robert Mueller Donald Trump Xi Jinping
2018		Guardians The Guardians		Journalists who faced persecution, arrest or murder for their reporting. Those highlighted on four different covers were: Jamal Khashoggi, Washington Post columnist murdered for his criticism of the Saudi crown prince; Maria Ressa, editor of the Philippine news website Rappler, who was indicted for her critical coverage of Rodrigo Duterte's controversially violent policies; Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Reuters journalists captured in Myanmar while investigating the Inn Din massacre; the staff of The Capital, a Maryland newspaper whose office was targeted by a gunman who killed five of its employees. The feature also spotlights the following journalists, in order: Shahidul Alam of Bangladesh Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh of Vietnam Dulcina Parra of Mexico Luz Mely Reyes of Venezuela Can Dündar of Turkey Tatyana Felgenhauer of Russia Amal Habani of Sudan Arkady Babchenko of Russia.	6 The Activists Ryan Coogler Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Moon Jae-in Robert Mueller Donald Trump
2019		Thunberg, GretaGreta Thunberg	Born 2003	Swedish environmental activist and founder of the School Strike for Climate campaign. In 2019, Thunberg led the Global Week for Future with over four million protestors and addressed the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit with her "How Dare You" speech.	4 The Hong Kong protesters Nancy Pelosi Donald Trump Whistleblower in Trump–Ukraine scandal
2020		Biden, JoeJoe Biden	Born 1942	In 2020, Biden and Harris were elected President and Vice President of the United States respectively, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. In January 2021, Harris became the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American vice president.	3 Anthony Fauci and the Front Line Health Workers The Movement for Racial Justice Donald Trump
		Harris, KamalaKamala Harris	Born 1964
2021		Musk, ElonElon Musk	Born 1971	CEO of Tesla, Inc., founder and CEO of SpaceX. In 2021, Musk had become the richest person in the world and first person reported to have a net worth of over 300 billion US dollars. Recognized for the achievements of stated companies in the prior years, including the first all-civilian orbital flight, as well as his public image.	Time did not release a shortlist for 2021.
2022		Zelenskyy, VolodymyrVolodymyr Zelenskyy	Born 1978	President of Ukraine since 2019, and supreme commander-in-chief during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine	9 Liz Cheney Ron DeSantis Gun safety advocates Elon Musk Protesters in Iran MacKenzie Scott Supreme Court of the United States Xi Jinping Janet Yellen
		Spirit of Ukraine The Spirit of Ukraine		"The Spirit of Ukraine" represents the "resilience of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian resistance, as well as foreign aid to Ukraine". The feature spotlights the following people and organizations, in order: Surgeon David Nott and the David Nott Foundation Chef José Andrés and the World Central Kitchen Restaurant owner Ievgen Klopotenko Opera singer Sergiy Ivanchuk Anesthetist Iryna Kondratova Actor Liev Schreiber and BlueCheck Ukraine Entrepreneur Oleg Rogynskyy Entrepreneur Elon Musk, engineer Oleg Kutkov and Starlink Medic Yuliia Paievska Journalist Olga Rudenko and the Kyiv Independent
2023		Swift, TaylorTaylor Swift	Born 1989	Singer-songwriter whose 2023–2024 Eras Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. The tour had a significant cultural and economic impact in 2023. Time described Swift as the first Person of the Year to be recognized for their "achievement in the arts". Swift was also on the 2017 Person of the Year cover, called "The Silence Breakers". She was noted by the magazine as the first woman to appear twice on a Person of the Year cover.	8 Sam Altman Barbie Charles III Hollywood strikers Jerome Powell Vladimir Putin Trump Prosecutors Xi Jinping
2024		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2)	Born 1946	In 2024, Trump was re-elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris and becoming the second president to win two nonconsecutive terms after Grover Cleveland.	10 Kamala Harris Catherine, Princess of Wales Elon Musk Yulia Navalnaya Benjamin Netanyahu Jerome Powell Joe Rogan Claudia Sheinbaum Mark Zuckerberg

Other categories

Every year, in addition to the main Person of the Year, Time (sometimes alongside a partner company) acknowledges impactful people or groups in other categories. This is a relatively recent practice, beginning in 1998 when Mark McGwire was awarded the title of Hero of the Year and becoming a regular event in 2018 with the re-introduction of the Heroes of the Year award.

Heroes of the Year was joined by Athlete of the Year, CEO of the Year, Entertainer of the Year and Guardians of the Year in 2019, Kid of the Year in 2020, Breakthrough of the Year, Dreamer of the Year, Icon of the Year and Innovator of the Year in 2022, Team of the Year in 2023 and Community of the Year in 2024.

In line with the introduction of these new categories, Time has expanded their annual Person of the Year private event to include and celebrate the recipients of the other categories and other Time awards. In 2022, a "Person of the Year Reception" was held at Plaza Hotel, which featured video messages from Person of the Year Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Dreamer of the Year Donnel Baird, an interview with Icon of the Year Michelle Yeoh and a performance from Breakthrough of the Year Mickey Guyton. This was followed up by 2023's "A Year in TIME" event, which featured an interview with CEO of the Year Sam Altman, a performance from Breakthrough of the Year Alex Newell and speeches from Padma Lakshmi (a Time100 Impact Award winner) and Claire Vlases (a Time Earth Award winner).

Athlete of the Year

Athlete of the Year was awarded in partnership with Oura Health in 2021 and LG in 2022.

Breakthrough of the Year

In 2022, this selection was called Breakthrough Artist of the Year

CEO of the Year

In 2019 and 2020, this selection was called Businessperson of the Year.

Community of the Year

Community of the Year is awarded in partnership with Land O'Lakes.

Dreamer of the Year

Dreamer of the Year is awarded in partnership with American Family Insurance.

Icon of the Year

Kid of the Year

Team of the Year

Team of the Year is awarded in partnership with Smartsheet.

Entertainer of the Year

In 2022, Entertainer of the Year was awarded in partnership with Montblanc.

Hero(es) of the Year

In 2020, Heroes of the Year was awarded in partnership with State Farm.

Innovator of the Year

Guardians of the Year

In 2020, Guardians of the Year was awarded in partnership with Amazon.

Online poll

From 2010 to 2022, Time held an annual online poll for the readers to vote for who they believed to be the Person of the Year. While many mistakenly believed the winner of the poll to be the Person of the Year, the title, as mentioned above, is decided by the editors of Time.

See also

In Spanish: Persona del año para niños

• Time 100
• Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century
• Time100 Impact Awards
• Canadian Newsmaker of the Year (Time), printed in the Canadian issue of Time until 2008
• Breakthrough of the Year
• Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People