Bill Clinton (1992)

“History may eventually decide that the key to Clinton’s accomplishment lay in his temperament … in his enthusiasm for people and curiosity about their lives,” Time said of the then-president-elect.

The Peacemakers (1993)

Two pairs of men shared the title in 1993 under the label “The Peacemakers.”

F. W. de Klerk, as the president of South Africa, worked to secure Nelson Mandela‘s release from prison. The two worked together to end the system of racial apartheid in South Africa.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accord, the first face-to-face agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Pope John Paul II (1994)

The first non-Italian pope in nearly 500 years, John Paul II was known for his modernization of the papacy and his extensive foreign reach.

“His power rests in the word, not the sword,” Time said in 1994.

Newt Gingrich (1995)

Citing his role in ending 40 years of Democratic Party domination in the House, Time named Newt Gingrich Man of the Year in 1995.

“Gingrich has changed the center of gravity,” Time said.

David Ho (1996)

AIDS researcher David Ho made huge contributions to understanding and treating HIV.

“He’s kind of a genius, you know,” his mother told Time. “I’m not supposed to say that, but it’s true.”

Andrew Grove (1997)

Intel co-founder Andrew Grove changed the way tech affects everyday Americans through his extensive work with semiconductors.

Time called Grove “the person most responsible for the amazing growth in the power and innovative potential of microchips.”

Bill Clinton and Ken Starr (1998)

Bill Clinton was once again named Time’s Person of the Year in 1998, but this time, he shared the billing with Ken Starr, the special counsel investigating him for perjury during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Starr’s investigation led to impeachment proceedings against Clinton.

“For rewriting the book on crime and punishment, for putting prices on values we didn’t want to rank, for fighting past all reason a battle whose casualties will be counted for years to come, Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr are Time’s 1998 Men of the Year,” Time said.

Jeff Bezos (1999)

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos “is a person who not only changed the way we do things but helped pave the way for the future,” Time said.

George W. Bush (2000)

George W. Bush was named Time’s Person of the Year after the closest presidential election in the nation’s history.

“Bush campaigned for a year against partisan politics and that was before partisanship became so poisonous that it polluted every institution of government. The man who talked less about what he would do than how he would do it finds that his bet has been called,” Time said.

Rudy Giuliani (2001)

Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“When the day of infamy came, Giuliani seized it as if he had been waiting for it all his life, taking on half a dozen critical roles and performing each masterfully,” Time said.

The Whistleblowers (2002)

Coleen Rowley, Cynthia Cooper and Sherron Watkins were singled out by Time “for believing — really believing — that the truth is one thing that must not be moved off the books, and for stepping in to make sure that it wasn’t.”

Rowley called out the FBI for ignoring early signs of a plan to attack the United States on 9/11. Auditor Cooper dug up $3.8 billion in accounting irregularities at Worldcom, forcing the company into bankruptcy. And Watkins warned her bosses at Enron that the company was in danger of collapse, which it did.

The American Soldier (2003)

Time’s decision came nine months into the Iraq War in 2003.

“For uncommon skills and service, for the choices each one of them has made and the ones still ahead, for the challenge of defending not only our freedoms but those barely stirring half a world away, the American soldier is Time’s Person of the Year,” the article said.

George W. Bush (2004)

George W. Bush was named Time’s Person of the Year for a second time in 2004, after winning reelection during the Iraq War.

Bush was chosen “for sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively),” Time wrote, “for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years.”

The Good Samaritans (2005)

The good works of Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Bono earned the trio acclaim in 2005.

Bono, U2’s frontman and a philanthropist, organized concerts to benefit impoverished nations.

Bill and Melinda Gates founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and pledged a huge portion of their wealth.

Time called the them “three people on a global mission to end poverty, disease — and indifference.”

You (2006)

An explosion of individual content creators on the internet spurred Time’s unusual 2006 decision.

“It’s about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes,” Time said.

Vladimir Putin (2007)

Putin landed on Time’s cover in the final year of his first term as Russia’s president.

“If Russia fails, all bets are off for the 21st century. And if Russia succeeds as a nation-state in the family of nations, it will owe much of that success to one man, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,” the Time article said.

Barack Obama (2008)

“He hit the American scene like a thunderclap, upended our politics, shattered decades of conventional wisdom and overcame centuries of the social pecking order,” the article said of the then-president-elect.

Ben Bernanke (2009)

“He didn’t just reshape U.S. monetary policy,” Time said of the Federal Reserve chair in 2009, a year after the devastating worldwide financial crisis. “He led an effort to save the world economy. No wonder his eyes look tired.”

Mark Zuckerberg (2010)

“In less than seven years,” Time said of the Facebook founder, “Zuckerberg wired together a twelfth of humanity into a single network, thereby creating a social entity almost twice as large as the U.S.

“We have entered the Facebook age, and Mark Zuckerberg is the man who brought us here.”

The Protester (2011)

The Arab Spring and the Occupy movement jointly inspired Time’s decision in 2011.

“In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints; they changed the world,” said the Time article.

Barack Obama (2012)

After defeating Mitt Romney to win his second term as president, Obama once again found himself named Person of the Year.

“He will take the oath on Jan. 20 as the first Democrat in more than 75 years to get a majority of the popular vote twice. Only five other Presidents have done that in all of U.S. history,” Time noted.

Pope Francis (2013)

Time’s 2013 choice had just been elevated to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

“John Paul II and Benedict XVI were professors of theology,” Time noted. “Francis is a former janitor, nightclub bouncer, chemical technician and literature teacher.”