Margaret Thatcher

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 · United Kingdom · Politicians · Lived 1925 to 2013 · aged 87

Margaret Thatcher is read about 10,487 times a day, in 155 languages.

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The first woman to run Britain - and the longest-serving prime minister of her century - she tore up the postwar consensus, privatised industries, broke the unions, and earned a Soviet nickname that stuck: the Iron Lady.

Politicians Politician Politics Chemistry Stand Up Founders United Kingdom Europe

A life in dates

2013Died8 April 20132008Honorary Doctor of the University of ŁódźAward2002Clare Boothe Luce AwardAward1999Order of the White LionAward1998Grand Order of King Dmitar ZvonimirAwardHonorary Citizen of ZagrebAwardRonald Reagan Freedom AwardAward1995Knight of the GarterAwardOrder of the Precious Crown, 1st ClassAward1993Chancellor of the College of William & MaryOffice1993-20001991Presidential Medal of FreedomAward1990Order of MeritAward1987Financial Times Person of the YearAward1983Fellow of the Royal SocietyAward1979Fellow of the Royal Institute of ChemistryAwardPrime Minister of the United KingdomOffice1979-19901975Leader of the Conservative PartyOffice1975-1990Leader of the OppositionOffice1975-19791974Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsOffice1974-19751973“I don't think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime.”In their words5 March 1973On Val meets the V.I.P.s, BBC Television (5 March 1973)Read the whole statement

1970Secretary of State for EducationOffice1970-19741968“One of the effects of the rapid spread of higher education has been to equip people to criticise and question almost everything.”In their words11 October 1968Conservative Political Centre Lecture (11 October 1968)Read the whole statement

1967Shadow Secretary of State for EducationOffice1967-19701965“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman.”In their words20 May 1965Speech to members of the National Union of Townswomen’s Guilds, delivered at the Royal Albert Hall (May 20, 1965) ; as quoted in Why WomenRead the whole statement

1961Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for PensionsOffice1961-19641951“Every Conservative desires peace. The threat to peace comes from Communism, which has powerful forces ready to attack anywhere.”In their words8 October 19511951 General Election Address (8 October 1951)Read the whole statement

1950“We have reached a crisis in world history, a crisis which demands swift and certain action...We believe in the freedom of the democratic way of life.”In their words29 December 1950New Year Message as Conservative candidate for Dartford (29 December 1950)Read the whole statement

1949“Don't be scared of the high language of economists and Cabinet ministers, but think of politics at our own household level.”In their words15 September 1949Speech to Bexley Conservative Women (15 September 1949)Read the whole statement

1925Born13 October 1925

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

1938-39 portrait, aged 13

Roberts studied chemistry at Somerville College (pictured) from 1943 to 1947.

Thatcher abolished free milk for children aged 7-11 (pictured) in 1971 as her predecessor had done for older children in 1968.

In their own words 10

Margaret Thatcher

10 statements, newest first

I don't think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime.
Mar 5, 1973, On Val meets the V.I.P.s, BBC Television (5 March 1973), Own words
I started life with two great advantages: no money, and good parents.
1971, On a 1971 TV interview, when asked if she understands ordinary people's problems., Own words
One of the effects of the rapid spread of higher education has been to equip people to criticise and question almost everything.
Oct 11, 1968, Conservative Political Centre Lecture (11 October 1968), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Honorary Doctor of the University of Łódź2008

Clare Boothe Luce Award2002

Order of the White Lion1999

Ronald Reagan Freedom Award1998

Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir1998

Honorary Citizen of Zagreb1998

Knight of the Garter1995

Order of the Precious Crown, 1st Class1995

Presidential Medal of Freedom, George H. W. Bush1991

Order of Merit1990

Financial Times Person of the Year1987

Fellow of the Royal Society1983

Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry1979

Grand Order of King Petar Krešimir IV

Dostyk Order of grade I

Order of Good Hope

Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great

Honorary Doctor of the Hofstra University

Honorary Doctor of the Bar-Ilan University

Honorary Citizen of Gdańsk

Order of Saint John

Order of Vytautas the Great

Royal Order of Francis I

Family

Parents

Margaret Thatcher

Partners

Spouse Denis Thatcher

Children

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About this person

Margaret Thatcher studied chemistry at Oxford, worked as a research chemist and then a barrister, and entered Parliament in 1959 representing Finchley. After serving as Education Secretary under Edward Heath, she ousted him in 1975 to lead the Conservatives - the first woman to front a major British party. Winning in 1979, she launched economic policies to reverse high inflation and curb trade union power, though early recession and unemployment dimmed her standing. Victory in the 1982 Falklands War revived her fortunes, delivering a landslide in 1983; she survived an IRA bombing in Brighton in 1984 and crushed the miners' strike that followed. Her 1986 deregulation of financial markets - the Big Bang - sparked a boom, and she won a third landslide in 1987. The poll tax and her hardening stance on Europe fractured her cabinet; a leadership challenge forced her out in 1990, succeeded by John Major. She died of a stroke at the Ritz in 2013, leaving a realignment toward neoliberalism whose legacy remains fiercely contested.

Country

United Kingdom

Politicians from the United Kingdom 6

Winston Churchill92.7

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