Who is the Father of Democracy?

An ancient Greek was the first to create democracy. Cleisthenes of Athens, Cleisthenes also spelled Clisthenes, (born c. 570 BCE—died c. 508), was regarded as the founder of Athenian democracy. He was born into the aristocratic Alcmaeonid family of Athens and first came to political prominence when he was made archon, a high administrative official in 525 B.C.E.

Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century B.C.E. The most important element of Cleisthenes' reforms c. 508 BCE was to reorganize the citizen body of Athens. Traditional classifications and kin groups such as the four Ionian tribes were replaced in significance by a new classification where each member of the citizen body (demos) was to belong to one of 139 local units. All political and military groupings would now be based on these new divisions. Any male who registered with their 'deme' automatically became a citizen and so could participate in the new council of 500, where everyone had an equal right to speak.

When he established democracy in Athens, he prepared the way for further reforms over the next decades which would create a fully and direct democratic system of government in which all citizens could participate. Unfortunately, nothing is recorded of Cleisthenes' later life after his reforms but they, at least, have ensured his lasting reputation as one of the earliest rulers to promote democracy and the ideal that government should rest with the many rather than the few.