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Every TIME Person of the Year Winner of the Past 25 Years

Every TIME Person of the Year Winner of the Past 25 Years

Discover who has won the coveted spot and why they were each recognized for their respective years

By Diane J. Cho

December 12, 2019 05:26 PM

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Greta Thunberg

Credit: EVGENIA ARBUGAEVA FOR TIME

2019

The 16-year-old climate activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee became the youngest person in history to ever receive the honor. Thunberg's moves to raise awareness around the need to curb carbon emissions include her solo school-day strike outside of Swedish parliament in 2018 and her voyage across the Atlantic in a carbon-neutral boat to give a powerful speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in 2019.

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The Guardians

Credit: TIME

2018

When the magazine decided to highlight journalists who've faced persecution and even death for their reporting, they chose to create four different covers to pay homage to the subjects. First, the late Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was brutally murdered after becoming a target for being critical of the Saudi Arabian government; the Capital Gazette staff, who experienced a mass shooting in their Annapolis, Maryland, newsroom that resulted in the death of five employees; Philippine news outlet Rappler's co-founder Maria Ressa, who has relentlessly reported on the drug war of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte; and Reuters' Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were both jailed in Myanmar for reporting on the Rohingya crisis.

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The Silence Breakers

Credit: TIME

2017

The rise of #MeToo landed these "voices that launched a movement" on the cover: actress Ashley Judd, who was the first to speak on the record about Harvey Weinstein's inappropriate behavior; strawberry picker Isabel Pascual (pseudonym), who shared her story about being sexually harassed and threatened on the job; lobbyist Adama Iwu, who organized more than 140 women to expose sexual harassment within the California government; former Uber software engineer Susan Fowler, who helped change the way Silicon Valley treats sexual harassment claims within its workforce; and singer Taylor Swift, who won her case against a former DJ who grabbed her inappropriately at a meet and greet in 2013.

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Donald Trump

Credit: TIME

2016

The president's shocking victory against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton made him the most talked-about person that election year. The real-estate-tycoon-turned-reality-star was sworn into office, sealing his role as the 45th president of the United States.

5 of 25

Angela Merkel

Credit: TIME

2015

Germany's Chancellor, who commands the world's fourth-largest economy, was heralded as Europe's most powerful leader as she took the lead on navigating Europe's debt and refugee crises.

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The Ebola Fighters

Credit: TIME

2014

The same year the horrific Ebola virus ravaged areas in rural Africa and spread to parts of Europe and the U.S. was the same year TIME honored first responders, doctors, nurses and organizations who helped stop the deadly epidemic from spreading.

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Pope Francis

Credit: TIME

2013

"The People's Pope" and the first non-European pope in 1,200 years landed the cover, making him the third pope to ever do so. Pope John XXIII was the first in 1962, followed by Pope John Paul II in 1994.

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Barack Obama

Credit: TIME

2012

On the heels of his first term as president, Obama earned his spot in the oval office again and kicked off his second term with a cover story that outlined what he had achieved during his first term and what he planned to do next. This was Obama's second time as Person of the Year: his first was the year he became president, 2008.

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The Protester

Credit: TIME

2011

This year marked the rise of several major protests that went down around the globe, including the Arab Spring across many of the Islamic parts of the world, the Occupy Movement across the U.S. and uprisings in Spain, Greece and other European countries.

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Mark Zuckerberg

Credit: TIME

2010

Six years after launching one of the most powerful social media platforms in the world, Zuckerberg had drastically changed how people interacted with each other through one central source: Facebook.

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Ben Bernanke

Credit: TIME

2009

The chairman of the Federal Reserve was honored after guiding the U.S. economy throughout the 2008 financial crisis.

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Barack Obama

Credit: TIME

2008

It may not have been a surprise to many when the then-president-elect graced the cover as the first African-American president of the United States.

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Vladimir Putin

Credit: TIME

2007

During this time, the then-president of Russia was thought to be ending his role as president to start his reign as prime minister under then-President Dmitry Medvedev.

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You

Credit: TIME

2006

This was the year the outlet decided to celebrate all of the creators who've fed the World Wide Web with funny memes, inspiring films and thought-provoking blog posts to make the Internet what it is was then (and still is today).

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The Good Samaritan

Credit: TIME

2005

U2 frontman Bono and Bill and Melina Gates were applauded for their philanthropic work across the globe, their missions to help end poverty and generous monetary contributions made to inspire and improve the quality of life for all mankind.

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George W. Bush

Credit: TIME

2004

The former president landed his second cover after defeating Democrat John Kerry to become re-elected as president.

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The American Soldier

Credit: TIME

2003

Risking their lives to protect and serve the U.S. during the Iraq War, TIME shined a light on the lives of American G.I.s.

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The Whistleblowers

Credit: TIME

2002

Sherron Watkins of Enron, Coleen Rowley of the FBI and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom shared the title as a result of their brave decisions to speak out against corrupt activity that took place at their respective institutions.

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Rudy Giuliani

Credit: TIME

2001

The then-mayor of New York City held the important title after the September 11th attacks, when he was deemed "The Mayor of the World" for his role in helping reunite the city to show everyone that New Yorkers were going to bounce back.

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George W. Bush

Credit: TIME

2000

The 43rd president of the U.S. was known as the governor of Texas and the eldest son of former President George H.W. Bush before winning the presidency his first time, by a very small margin, against then-Vice President Al Gore.

21 of 25

Jeff Bezos

Credit: TIME

1999

The founder of Amazon.com was noted for changing the way millions shopped online after launching the thriving ecommerce site.

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Bill Clinton & Ken Starr

Credit: TIME

1998

The cover was shared by the former president, who was embroiled in controversy for what's now known as the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Starr, the then-independent counsel who investigated Clinton and published the Starr Report, which led to the 42nd president's impeachment.

23 of 25

Andrew Grove

Credit: TIME

1997

The then-chairman and CEO of Intel was credited as "the person most responsible for the amazing growth in the power and innovative potential of microchips" by the magazine.

24 of 25

David Ho

Credit: TIME

1996

The doctor and researcher helped advance research and potential treatments for thousands of AIDs sufferers, and was also the recipient of a Presidential Medial in 2001.

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Newt Gingrich

1995

The then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives shook up politics when he ended the four-decade-long Democratic majority that had led the House until he came along.

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By Diane J. Cho

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More

Every TIME Person of the Year Winner of the Past 25 Years

1 of 25

Greta Thunberg

1 of 25

2 of 25

The Guardians

2 of 25

3 of 25

The Silence Breakers

3 of 25

4 of 25

Donald Trump

4 of 25

5 of 25

Angela Merkel

5 of 25

6 of 25

The Ebola Fighters

6 of 25

7 of 25

Pope Francis

7 of 25

8 of 25

Barack Obama

8 of 25

9 of 25

The Protester

9 of 25

10 of 25

Mark Zuckerberg

10 of 25

11 of 25

Ben Bernanke

11 of 25

12 of 25

Barack Obama

12 of 25

13 of 25

Vladimir Putin

13 of 25

14 of 25

You

14 of 25

15 of 25

The Good Samaritan

15 of 25

16 of 25

George W. Bush

16 of 25

17 of 25

The American Soldier

17 of 25

18 of 25

The Whistleblowers

18 of 25

19 of 25

Rudy Giuliani

19 of 25

20 of 25

George W. Bush

20 of 25

21 of 25

Jeff Bezos

21 of 25

22 of 25

Bill Clinton & Ken Starr

22 of 25

23 of 25

Andrew Grove

23 of 25

24 of 25

David Ho

24 of 25

25 of 25

Newt Gingrich

25 of 25

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