Leadership is the one of the most difficult and most interesting phenomena in the development of human society. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive analysis of establishing of the theory of leadership in the Western philosophical thought. In the article the principal temporary stages were identified in the development of philosophical thought, and an attempt to determine the nature and formulate the basic principles of leadership as a social phenomenon was placed in the center of this stages. Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle and others are among the representatives of the ancient thoughts, whose views and works are reflected in this study. The philosophers of the Middle Ages, whose works have been turned to the question of leadership and leadership qualities, are Thomas Aquinas, Augustine Ipponiysky, Machiavelli and others. The French Revolution changed not only the general political mood in Europe, but also in the understanding of the genesis of leadership. The philosophers of the bourgeois revolution whose works have been analyzing it in this study are T. Hobbes, J. Locke, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. But the real surge of interest in the problems of leadership occurred in the 19th century, it is associated with such names as F. Nietzsche, M. Weber, H. Frey, C. Jung, E. Fromm. The second half of the 20th century is represented by works of behaviorists, political scientists, representatives of the theory of modern management and modern pedagogy. Philosophical understanding of theories of leadership continues into the 21st century, going from macro to micro levels and spreading to all spheres of human life.
