Margaret Hilda Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime minister and the longest-serving of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern British history. Thatcher rose to prominence as a research chemist and a barrister. She was elected to Parliament in 1959 as the MP for Finchley. She held several ministerial posts in the governments of Edward Heath, including Secretary of State for Education and Science. In 1975, she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election and became the Leader of the Opposition. She became known as the “Iron Lady” for her uncompromising stance against the Soviet Union and the trade unions. In 1979, Thatcher led the Conservatives to victory in the general election and became the Prime Minister. She implemented a series of economic and social policies that became known as Thatcherism, which aimed to reduce the role of the state, promote free markets and individualism, privatize public industries and services, and weaken the power of trade unions. She also played a key role in the Falklands War, the miners’ strike, the deregulation of the financial sector, the poll tax, and the signing of the Single European Act. Thatcher’s popularity and influence declined in the late 1980s, as her policies became more unpopular and divisive, and as she faced growing opposition within her own party. In 1990, she failed to win the first round of a leadership challenge and resigned as Prime Minister and party leader. She was succeeded by John Major, who led the Conservatives to a narrow victory in the 1992 election. Thatcher remained an active member of the House of Lords until 2002, when she retired from public life due to ill health. She died of a stroke in 2013, at the age of 87.