Since 1996 the editors of the European editions of the Reader's Digest magazine have named "European of the Year" individuals who best embody the traditions and values of Europe.
1996: Roman Catholic Father Imre Kozma, chairman of the Hungarian Malteser Caritas-Service.1997: Norwegian Frederic Hauge, founder of the environmental group Bellona.1998: British Solo-Skipper Pete Goss, who saved his French friend Raphael Dinelli during a solo yachting competition.1999: Danish Inge Genefke, for her commitment to the treatment and rehabilitation of torture victims.2000: Paul van Buitenen, who uncovered mismanagement within the European Commission.2001: Linus Benedict Torvalds, the inventor of Linux.2002: Eva Joly, former Adjudicator in France (among others in the Tapie corruption scandal regarding Elf Aquitaine).2003: Šimon Pánek, founder of People in Need.2004: German jurist Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International.2005: Russian doctor Leonid Roshal, who mediated in the Beslan school hostage crisis.2006: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, for her support of Muslim females threatened by religious fanatics.2007: Swiss Professor Ruedi Lüthy, for his support of African AIDS victims.2008: French economist Maria Nowak, for her micro-credit program.2009: German athlete Joachim Franz, for his global efforts against AIDS.2010: Romanian Iana Matei, for her work to fight forced prostitution in Romania.2011: Doctor Monika Hauser, for her work with sexual-assault victims in war zones.2012: Bulgarian sailor Petar Petrov, who saved 500 people during the Costa Concordia disaster.2013: Polish Director of Belsat TV, Agnieszka Romaszewska-Buzy, for providing a voice for Belarus.2014: Swiss entrepreneur and politician Thomas Minder.2015: Felix Finkbeiner (born 1997) Founder of the international children and youth initiative Plant-for-the-Planet, to mitigate effects of climate change.