UN Day Humanitarian of the Year Award Gala Dinner
Past galas and honorees
2024
William P. Lauder
Executive Chairman
The Estée Lauder Companies
Catherine Russell
Executive Director
UNICEF
Sima Bahous
Executive Director
UN Women
2022
Grant F. Reid
Chief Executive Officer
Mars
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director-General
World Trade Organization
Ellie Goulding
Singer-songwriter and Global Environmental Ambassador
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
2019
Delta Air Lines
Allison Ausband, Senior VP of In-Flight Service
Mira Sorvino
Actor and Humanitarian
Nicholas Kristof
Journalist and Writer
2019 Lifetime Achievement Award
2018
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau
First Lady of Canada
Bill McDermott
Chief Executive Officer
SAP
Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Former President of the Republic of Liberia
2017
Joseph R. Biden
47th Vice-President of the United States
Youngsuk Chi
Chairman, Elsevier
Director of Corporate Affairs, RELX Group
2016
Jean Todt
President and CEO
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)
UN Special Envoy for Road Safety
Michelle Yeoh
Actor, Producer and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador
2015
Marco Bizzarri
President and CEO, Gucci
Anthony Lake
Executive Director, UNICEF
Madame Ban Soon-taek
UN Women for Peace Association
2015 Lifetime Achievement Award
Featuring an appearance by
John Legend
Grammy Award-winning musical artist
2014
Stefan Persson and the Persson Family
Chairman, H&M
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Executive Director, UN Women
UN Under Secretary-General
Lord Raj Loomba, CBE
Founder and Chairman, The Loomba Foundation
2014 Lifetime Achievement Award
2013
Dr. Norbert Reithofer
Chairman and CEO, BMW Group
Keynote Speaker
Madeleine Albright
Former US Secretary of State
2012
His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser
President of the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and Former Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN
2011
Johnson & Johnson
Sheri S. McCoy, Vice Chair
Christy Turlington Burns
Founder, Every Mother Counts
Winston Chung
2011 Inaugural Award for Social Entrepreneur & Philanthropist of the Year
2010
Royal DSM
Feike Sijbesma, Chief Executive Officer
Amir Dossal
Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships
2009
Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo
Albert Carey, CEO and President
Lord Foster of Thames Bank OM
Founder and Chairman, Foster + Partners
2008
Toray Industries, Inc.
Sadayuki Sakakibara, President and CEO
His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations
His Excellency Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
The President of the Republic of Iceland
2007
Unilever
Antony Burgmans, former Chairman
Guy Laliberté
Founder, Cirque du Soleil, One Drop Foundation
Rotary International
Wilfred J. Wilkinson, President
2006
General Electric Foundation
Robert L. Corcoran, President
Ann M. Veneman
Executive Director, UNICEF
2005
The Links Incorporated
Dr. Gladys Gary Vaughn, national president
Liya Kebede
World Health Organization, Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
International Federation of Health Plans
Tom Sackville, Chief Executive
2004
Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland
2003
Gillian Sorensen
Senior Advisor, United Nations Foundation
2002
Shashi Tharoor
United Nations Under Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
2001
Harry Belafonte
Actor and Activist
Brian Urquhart
United Nations Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
2000
Giandomenico Picco
United Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs
1999
Sergio Vieira de Mello
United Nations Under Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
1998
Olara A. Otunnu
United Nations Under Secretary-General and
Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
1997
H. E. Mr. Kofi and Mrs. Nane Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations and Mrs. Nane Annan
1996
Carol Bellamy
Executive Director, UNICEF
