Page 26 - All About History - Issue 09-14

Democracy

Hall of fame

10 PIONEERS OF DEMOCRACY

Meet the people who helped you have your say

Mikhail
Gorbachev

RUSSIAN 1931-
Having become the General
Secretary of the Soviet Union
during the Cold War, one of the
most incendiary periods in history,
Gorbachev’s policies went some
way towards alleviating the sky-
high tensions of the time. His
tenure bore witness to such world-
changing acts as the collapse of the
Soviet Union, the relative freedom
of the countries in the eastern
bloc, and the further development
of democracy in the newly-
established Russia.
Thomas Jefferson was the third
president of the United States
THOMAS JEFFERSON

AMERICAN 1743-1826
As the main author of the US Declaration
of Independence of 1776, Jefferson was a King John I became a pivotal
key proponent in both the development of figure for democracy,
democracy and the formation of the United somewhat against his will
States of America. A man of many talents, King John
he served as a diplomat in France before
BRITISH 1166-1216
becoming secretary of state in 1790 and Although not a willing advocate of
vice president to John Adams in 1797, before democracy, John is a pivotal figure
being elected as the third US president in thanks to his acceptance of the
Magna Carta. Signed in 1215, it was
1801, where he remained in office until put forward by a group of barons
1809. He attracted criticism for publicly with the intention of making the
opposing slavery, despite owning king rule according to feudal law.
hundreds himself, yet he is still The charter was the first step
towards undermining the total rule
remembered for the important role of the monarchy and introducing
he played in US history. human rights, and parts of it are
still ensconced in British law today.
“The boisterous sea of liberty

is never without a wave”

Thomas Jefferson
Cleisthenes

GREEK 570-508 BCE
‘The father of Athenian democracy’, Cleisthenes is
credited with reforming the system of government
in Athens in order to make it more representative of
the population. He altered the existing ruling system
of four tribes into ten, which were decided according
to their geographical location rather than family.
In each tribe, people were selected by ballot to rule
on a council for a year. This new method increased
A bust of Cleisthenes representation and reduced the nobility’s power.

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