Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness
Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS, née Roberts (13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013), was
a British politician, the longest-serving (1979–1990) Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom of
the 20th century, and the only woman ever to have held the post. A Soviet journalist
called her the "Iron Lady", a
nickname which became associated with her uncompromising politics and
leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented Conservative policies that
have come to be known as Thatcherism.
Originally a research chemist before
becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of
Parliament (MP) forFinchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed
her Secretary
of State for Education and Science in
his 1970 government. In 1975 Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election and became Leader
of the Opposition, as well as the first woman to lead a major
political party in the United
Kingdom. She became Prime Minister after
winning the 1979
general election.
After entering 10 Downing Street, Thatcher introduced
a series of political and economic initiatives to reverse what she perceived to
be Britain's
precipitous national decline.[nb 1] Her
political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly
of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned
companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions.
Thatcher's popularity during her first years in office waned amid recession and
high unemployment, until economic recovery and the 1982 Falklands War brought a resurgence of support,
resulting in her re-election
in 1983.
Thatcher was re-elected for a third term
in 1987, but her Community Charge (popularly referred to as "poll
tax") was widely unpopular and her views on the European Community were not shared by others in her
Cabinet. She resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990,
after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her
leadership. Thatcher held a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in
the County of Lincolnshire, which entitled her to sit
in the House of Lords