The leader known for the phrase "Tear down this wall!" is former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Delivered during his speech at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, this iconic statement was directed at Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and addressed the division of East and West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. Reagan's exhortation symbolized a broader call for freedom and played a significant role in the eventual fall of the wall and the end of Cold War tensions in Europe.