Baroness, nicknamed toothpick. Biography of Margaret Thatcher - what was the “Iron Lady” like?

Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925, north of London, in the small English town of Grantham, known only for being the birthplace of Isaac Newton.

Even before school, Margaret studied music and poetry. From childhood, her father taught her to play sports and developed his daughter’s oratorical abilities. Margaret grew up as a serious child beyond her age; she had practically no friends except her father.

She then entered a girls' school, where she studied well and took part in sports competitions, becoming captain of her school's team. At the age of nine, Margaret won a poetry competition, showing character. When she took first place, the headmistress of the school told her: “You are very lucky, Margaret,” but the girl responded: “It’s not luck, madam. It’s merit!” Since then, at school, Margaret began to be called Toothpick - perhaps for her sharp mind, and maybe for her sharp tongue.

At the age of 12, she began attending political meetings, and at 13, despite the fact that her father supported Conservative policies, she chose Labour. Margaret still had enough time to work in her family's grocery store. Meanwhile, her father, through hard work and determination, ensured that he was elected mayor of Grantham.

Four years before finishing school, Margaret decided that she would study at Somerville, the best women's college in Oxford. To qualify for a scholarship, it was necessary to learn Latin perfectly. After four years of hard work and cramming, Margaret achieved this.

Margaret devoted all her free time only to study. The only activity that could take her away from her textbooks was her participation in the popular political debates of those times. By participating in them, Margaret honed her oratory skills and learned to defend her beliefs among men.

Later, already at Oxford University, Margaret Roberts joined the Conservative Association. In 1947, Margaret Roberts received her bachelor's degree and began working as a research assistant at the Mannington Laboratory. Then she moved to London, where she also worked in a chemical laboratory. However, politics occupied Margaret's thoughts. In 1948 she decided to seek election to Parliament from the Dartford branch of the Conservative Party.

Margaret Roberts lost the election, but during the election campaign she met one of her party comrades, industrialist Denis Thatcher, with whom they married two years later, in 1951. Shortly after their marriage, Margaret entered law school. In 1953, she gave birth to twins, whom she named Carol and Mark, and passed the bar exam just four months later.

Margaret Thatcher often discussed the topic of combining family and professional responsibilities. Her opinion was always clear. Over the next years, Margaret Thatcher worked as a lawyer, then became an excellent specialist in patent and tax law. Before her, there was practically no place for women in this area of ​​jurisprudence in those years.

In 1959, Margaret Thatcher took part in parliamentary elections for the second time and this time won. She became a member of the House of Commons at the age of 33!

Since then, she has gradually moved up the political ladder and in May 1979 became Prime Minister of Great Britain, gaining almost 44% of the popular vote.

Baroness Margaret Hilda Thatcher (Baroness Thatcher, 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was the first and only female leader of the country and prime minister. Since 1992, she received the title of Baroness, and a little later, due to negative and very harsh remarks about the Soviet authorities, she acquired the nickname “Iron Lady,” which she retained and even went down in history.

Childhood

Margaret Roberts (that was her maiden name) was born on October 13 in the town of Grantham. Her father was the owner of several grocery stores, and her mother helped him manage a small business. Like her older sister, Margaret was trained from an early age to do everything their father did in the store: serving customers, searching for goods in the warehouse, and much more.

Since the family did not have their own home, they had to rent space above one of the grocery stores, where they lived.

As Margaret herself admitted, practically no one was involved in raising her and her sister, but for any offenses they were seriously punished by their parents. Since both father and mother also belonged to a religious community, they raised their children according to all the canons of the church and did not allow disobedience on their part. That is why both girls grew up as diligent and reserved individuals who always remembered modesty and did not forget when in the company of adults.

Initially, young Margaret was sent to study at a regular high school on Huntingtower Road, but a few months later her parents learned that the girl had written a refusal on her own and asked to attend the Kesteven and Grantham School for Girls. She was successfully transferred and already there, after spending several months with the new pupil, the teachers realized what a treasure they had taken under their care. The girl was incredibly talented and longed for a good, in-depth study of disciplines.

Thanks to the excellent, strict upbringing promoted by her parents, she was eager to learn as much as possible. In particular, during her school years, Margaret enrolled in courses in field hockey, swimming, race walking, piano and drawing. And the teachers of absolutely all electives unanimously praised the modest and diligent student and predicted a great future for her in many areas.

Youth and the beginning of a political career

After graduating from high school, Margaret Roberts entered Sommerville College to study natural sciences. The girl wanted to get a scholarship, so while still a schoolgirl, she applied for a grant, but, unfortunately, was refused.

However, fate turned out to be favorable to her: a few months after this, one of the scholarship students accepted into the college refused to study for health reasons, and Margaret was first on the list of applicants for the vacant place. So, the talented young lady was accepted into the Faculty of Natural Sciences, where she began to enjoy studying chemistry and X-ray diffraction analysis. By the way, she successfully graduated from Sommerville College with a bachelor's degree.

After graduating from college and entering Oxford University, Roberts became interested in the political life of the school. At that time, school associations were very popular, therefore, having found the Conservative Party at the university, the student gladly joined the team. This was followed by a series of fairly successful speeches and debates, where Thatcher was the main character. According to her institute friends, the girl always suggested the right solution and could find a way out of any situation in a short time. In addition, she was an excellent speaker, whom university students listened to and heard.

In 1948, Margaret, along with members of the Conservative Party, travels to a political event in Llandudno, where she speaks to students at another university. Her speech impresses students and teachers so much that they decide to include her in the already approved list of candidates for the upcoming elections. And already in 1951, Thatcher learned that her candidacy had indeed been nominated as a contender for a position in the country's parliament.

Victory in the elections and further career

Margaret Thatcher's emergence as a member of Parliament did not happen overnight. Initially, the Conservative Party, for which she stood, lost by a negligible number of votes. However, the young woman tried herself in politics again and again, so by 1959 she took her seat in the House of Commons.

Despite her good oratory skills, at first few people listened to the words of Margaret Thatcher. She worked on housing issues, defended the interests of workers, voted for the restoration of more severe penalties for various types of crimes and was in the shadow sector of the State Treasury, but nowhere was she taken seriously.

The situation changes in 1970, when Edward Hitch becomes the leader of the Conservative Party and Margaret Thatcher is appointed Minister of Education and Science. As a minister, a woman changes a lot in education. In particular, it reduces the taxation of educational institutions and introduces additional benefits in this area. In addition, she votes for the introduction of bonuses in the form of free milk for schoolchildren, while not reducing the distribution of pints of this product to young children. This attitude causes indignation among the Labor Party and the media, because the country has never given away so much milk.

By 1979, despite constant contradictions with other parties, the Conservative Party won the elections, gaining over 80% of the vote. This means that Margaret Thatcher takes the post of Prime Minister of the country and becomes the first and only woman to achieve such impressive victories. It is worth noting that in her post she achieves no less progressive results. It is reviving an economy that has long been plagued by rising inflation and unemployment.

Thatcher strengthens and expands Britain's diplomatic relations with other countries, reduces taxation and tries to do as much as possible for its citizens. That is why the nickname “Iron Lady”, given to Margaret in the negative sense of the USSR, is rather positive for the British themselves, because their Prime Minister is so firm and confident that he is ready to do anything for their well-being.

Prime Minister of Great Britain

Despite her husband's health problems (cancer), Margaret Thatcher continues to build her own career without devoting time to her family. She has a new idea - to become the head of the Conservative Party, which lost the elections in 1974. The woman promised that the changes in party charters would be radical and successful, and in 1979 she stood on the pedestal, taking the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain.

The “Iron Lady” took control during difficult years for the country: economic crisis, inflation, strikes, unemployment, military operations in the Falkland Islands. The reform process was inevitable, and Thatcher had to make super-tough decisions in order to achieve prosperity for the state.

The Prime Minister made a profitable bet by establishing relations with British colonies in Africa, and strengthened the country's position in the region.

In 1984, an assassination attempt was organized on the powerful politician by the Irish Republican Army. As a result, five innocent people died, but Thatcher and her husband managed to escape.

Resignation

During the election for chairman of the Conservative Party in 1989, Thatcher's rival was a little-known member of the House of Commons, Anthony Mayer. Of the 374 members of Parliament who were members of the Conservative Party and had the right to vote, 314 people voted for Thatcher, while 33 people voted for Mayer. Her supporters within the party considered the result a success and rejected any claims that there were divisions within the party.

During her premiership, Thatcher had the second lowest average level of popular support (around 40%) of any post-war British prime minister. Opinion polls suggested that her popularity was below that of the Conservative Party. However, the self-confident Thatcher always insisted that she was of little interest in various ratings, pointing to record support during the parliamentary elections.

According to public opinion polls conducted in September 1990, Labor's rating was 14% higher than that of the Conservatives, and by November the Conservatives were already 18% behind Labor. The above ratings, as well as Thatcher's combative personality and her disregard for the opinions of her colleagues, became the cause of disagreements within the Conservative Party. In the end, it was the party that was the first to get rid of Margaret Thatcher.

On 1 November 1990, Geoffrey Howe, the last of Thatcher's first 1979 Cabinet, resigned as Deputy Prime Minister after Thatcher refused to agree on a timetable for Britain to join the single European currency.

The next day, Michael Heseltine announced his desire to lead the Conservative Party. According to opinion polls, it was his personality that could help the Conservatives overtake Labor. Although Thatcher managed to take first place in the first round of voting, Heseltine secured enough votes (152 votes) to force a second round. Margaret initially intended to continue the fight to the bitter end in the second round. After an audience with the Queen and her final speech in the House of Commons, Thatcher resigned as prime minister. She considered her removal from office to be a betrayal.

The position of Prime Minister of Great Britain and Chairman of the Conservative Party passed to John Major, under whose leadership the Conservative Party managed to win the 1992 parliamentary elections.

Personal life

Margaret meets her future husband, Denis Thatcher, completely by accident. The man was a good lawyer and one day he was invited to a celebration where the aspiring politician Margaret was present. After talking, young people realize how much they have in common. A couple of months later, the general public becomes aware that Margaret changed her surname Roberts to Thatcher and secretly married a lawyer.

For some time, many politicians and celebrities have been predicting a quick separation for them, because due to a busy schedule, a woman should not have time for her personal life. But Margaret, accustomed to difficulties and numerous activities, remains faithful to her husband until the end of her days.

Illness and death

In the last years of her life, Margaret Thatcher was seriously ill. On December 21, 2012, she underwent surgery to remove a bladder tumor. Thatcher died in the early hours of April 8, 2013, aged 88, at the Ritz Hotel in central London, where she had been staying since being discharged from hospital at the end of 2012. The cause of death was stroke.

The funeral service took place at St Paul's Cathedral in London with full military honours. Back in 2005, Thatcher drew up a detailed plan for her funeral, and preparations for it have been going on since 2007 - all events in which the Queen takes part are planned in advance. At her funeral, according to the plan, the “iron lady” wanted the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, members of the royal family, as well as major political figures of the Thatcher era, including ex-USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev (could not attend for health reasons). According to Thatcher's last wishes, the orchestra performed selected works by the English composer Edward Elgar. After the funeral service, cremation took place, and the ashes, according to the will of the deceased, were buried next to her husband Denis in the cemetery of a military hospital in London's Chelsea district. The funeral took place on April 17 and cost £6 million.

Thatcher's opponents, of whom there were also many, wildly celebrated and held street parties in honor of the death of the ex-prime minister. At the same time, the song “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead” from the film “The Wizard of Oz,” released in 1939, was performed. In the April days of 2013, the song became popular again and took second place in the official UK single chart.

Heritage

For Thatcher's supporters, she remains a political figure who was able to restore the British economy, deal a significant blow to trade unions and restore Britain's image as a world power. During her premiership, the number of British residents who owned shares increased from 7 to 25%; More than a million families purchased previously council-owned homes, increasing homeownership from 55% to 67%. Overall personal wealth increased by 80%. Victory in the Falklands War and a close alliance with the United States are also considered one of its most important achievements.

At the same time, the period of Thatcher's premiership was marked by high unemployment and regular strikes. For the unemployment issue, most critics blame her economic policies, which were heavily influenced by the ideas of monetarism. This problem, in turn, has caused the spread of drug addiction and family divorces. Speaking in Scotland in April 2009, on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of her election as Prime Minister, Thatcher insisted that she had no regrets about her actions during her premiership, including the introduction of a poll tax and the refusal to subsidize “outdated industries.” , whose markets were in decline."

Thatcher's premiership was the longest in the 20th century since Salisbury (1885, 1886-1892 and 1895-1902) and the longest continuous tenure since Lord Liverpool (1812-1827).

• In 1992, Margaret Thatcher was awarded the title of Baroness, granted to her by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
• Margaret's style of government is noted in history as the period of "Thatcherism".
• In 2009, the feature film “Margaret” was released about the life of the famous politician, and in 2011, “The Iron Lady” was released, which received an Oscar.
• Margaret was inspired to pursue a political career by the book “The Road to Serfdom” by the writer Friedrich von Hayek.
• In 2007, Thatcher erected a monument (bronze sculpture) in the British Parliament.

Margaret Thatcher is one of the most charismatic, prominent and controversial figures in modern political history. She became the only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain and the first woman to hold this position in a European state. Thatcher's premiership was the longest in her country in the past century, and the political course pursued by the government of the "Iron Lady" immortalized her name in its name - "Thatcherism".

Margaret Thatcher: biography of her early years

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on October 13, 1925 in the English city of Grantham (Lincolnshire). Her father owned two grocery stores. He also served as a Grantham councilor and was a Methodist pastor. The strict upbringing given by her father affected the formation of the character of the future “iron lady” - first of all, he encouraged such qualities as discipline and diligence.

In childhood and adolescence, Margaret developed diversified. After graduating from primary school in her hometown, she received a scholarship to study at the Kesteven and Graham School for Girls. She also enjoyed playing the piano and poetry, and was also involved in race walking, field hockey and swimming.

In 1943, she entered Oxford University, where she studied chemistry, and four years later received a bachelor's degree. During her studies, her interest in politics began to manifest: she became chairman of her university's Conservative Party Association.

After graduating, Margaret Roberts got a job in Essex as a celluloid plastics chemist. At the same time, she joined the local Tory party association.

Beginning of a political career

In January 1951, a friend of Margaret's from university, apparently sensing serious political potential in her, recommended that she be included on the Conservative electoral roll for one of the constituencies in Kent. After her candidacy was approved, Margaret Roberts moved to the city of Dartford. Here she met businessman Denis Thatcher. In 1951 she married him.

Participating in the elections of 1950 and 1951, Margaret Thatcher (then Roberts) attracted the attention of the press as the only woman on the party list and as the youngest candidate, but she failed to enter parliament - Labor won. However, despite the loss, she gained invaluable experience.

During the same period, she finally left her studies in chemistry and, with the support of her husband, received a second higher education - law. Having become a barrister, a high-ranking lawyer with the right to conduct cases, Thatcher continued to run for parliament, while simultaneously raising twins Carol and Mark, born in 1953.

In April 1959, luck finally smiled on her: as a candidate from the Finchley constituency, during a difficult election struggle she became a member of the House of Commons. In parliament, she was assigned the position of chairman of the Pension Committee and at the same time head of the National Security Committee.

In 1967, after Labour's election victory, Margaret Thatcher entered the "shadow cabinet" formed by the Conservatives, becoming Housing Minister. And three years later, when power in Great Britain again passed to the Tories led by Edward Heath, she became Minister of Science and Education.

In 1975, the Liberals defeated the Conservatives in the elections, but Thatcher's popularity allowed her to remain in the ministerial chair. In the same year, Margaret Thatcher became the head of the Conservative Party.

Prime Ministerial Elections

By the beginning of 1979, the economic situation in Great Britain was very difficult. Inflation has increased significantly, labor productivity has fallen, and the quality of equipment produced in the country has decreased. The low standard of living of people caused a wave of strikes that paralyzed many industries. A government crisis was brewing.

Margaret Thatcher, who was the leader of the opposition at that time, passed a vote of no confidence in the government, which (by a margin of just one vote) was supported by parliament. New elections were scheduled to take place on May 3, 1979.

The Tory manifesto, written by Thatcher, essentially embodied a plan to lead the country out of the crisis. She proposed to achieve a reduction in inflation by reducing government spending (excluding the healthcare sector). As an incentive for the development of entrepreneurship, it was planned to reduce the upper limit of taxes. Taxation of low-paid segments of the population was planned to be reduced.

As a result of the elections, the Conservatives received a convincing majority of seats in parliament. And Margaret Thatcher, whose biography was replenished with a new achievement, became the first woman prime minister in the history of her state.

Foreign policy

The foreign policy course of the Thatcher cabinet assumed the revival of Great Britain's position as a great world power, as well as participation in resolving a number of global issues on the world stage, including those not within the sphere of the country's immediate interests. British diplomacy of that period was characterized by determination and toughness - traits that distinguished Margaret Thatcher's policies in general.

The Iron Lady relied on the development of mutually beneficial bilateral relations with the former British colonies in southern Africa. Thanks to them, Britain was able to significantly strengthen its economic and military presence in this region.

In 1982, after Argentina occupied the disputed territories of the Falkland Islands, Thatcher sent British warships to the south Atlantic, which managed to regain control of the islands in a matter of weeks. This achievement gave the Conservatives a second victory in the parliamentary elections the following year.

Thatcher had a very negative attitude towards the processes of European integration. She would prefer to orient the life of Europe on the same principles that she preached in her own country: freedom of enterprise and movement of funds, lack of protectionism and free markets. In her opinion, the basis of relations on the continent should have been cooperation between independent sovereign powers. However, some concessions, in particular Britain’s participation in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the predecessor of the Monetary Union, indicated that the “Iron Lady” still made compromises, recognizing the inevitability of the integration processes taking place on the continent.

Relations with the USA

The period of Thatcher's premiership was characterized by a rapprochement between Great Britain and the United States. The latter supported Britain at the UN during the Falklands Crisis; the allied relations of these countries have significantly strengthened in a number of global issues. This was largely justified by the similar political beliefs of US President Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Photos of both politicians during their frequent official meetings are known throughout the world.

Thatcher approved of the American SDI project, as well as NATO plans to build up arms, allowing the deployment of one hundred and sixty medium-range missiles on British territory and accepting a program to equip nuclear submarines with American Trident missiles. She supported Reagan's initiatives towards the USSR, which they both viewed with distrust.

Relations with the USSR

Back in 1976, heading the Conservative Party of Great Britain, Thatcher sharply criticized the political actions of the Soviet Union, declaring that it was determined to achieve world domination. In response, in the pages of Krasnaya Zvezda, the newspaper of the Soviet Ministry of Defense, she was called the “iron lady.” This characterization was immediately picked up by the English edition of The Sunday Times. Since then, Margaret Thatcher's nickname - "The Iron Lady" - has become her middle name.

At the same time, despite the harsh anti-Soviet position at the very beginning of her time in power, It was Thatcher who became the first leader of a Western state to support political changes in the USSR. Even before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the socialist regimes in Eastern Europe, she spoke about the end of the Cold War, openly supporting Mikhail Gorbachev. After Gorbachev came to power, the relationship between the two leaders remained constructive and emphatically respectful.

In the book "The Art of Statecraft", published in 2002 from the pen of Margaret Thatcher, an entire chapter was written about Russia. In general, supporting the reformers of the 90s of the last century, she expresses the idea that it is impossible to “fit” Russia into the framework of Western European values ​​due to the historical characteristics of the development of this country.

Domestic policy

During her eleven years as head of the British cabinet, Margaret Thatcher carried out a number of tough reforms in various areas of the country's life. She initiated the transfer into private hands of traditionally public sectors of the economy (telephone, aerospace and gas companies), as well as the purchase of housing by its tenants, and increased a number of taxes.

She actively fought against the influence of trade unions, limiting their powers. She revised the system of assistance to the unemployed, stimulating earlier retirement, part-time work, and retraining of more in-demand personnel. In addition, the development of small businesses was encouraged.

These measures actually led to stabilization of the economic situation, reduction of inflation and unemployment. However, the introduction of a new communal "poll tax" instead of the previous one, based on the rental value of a house, as well as the encouragement of paid education and medicine, caused strong protests from the British and contributed to the decline in the popularity of the Prime Minister and her party.

Retirement and life after it

After taking a number of unpopular measures, accompanied by widespread anti-government protests, Margaret Thatcher had no choice but to resign. She decided to take this step in November 1990, after much hesitation. Her place was taken by John Major, former Secretary of the Exchequer.

In the same year, the “Iron Lady” was awarded the Order of Merit, and two years later, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain granted Margaret Thatcher a baronial title and the right to lifelong membership in the House of Lords.

The postulates of “Thatcherism” were accepted by many of her followers. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron met with her after they were elected to this post. Until her last days, she continued to take part in the social and political life of her country. In addition, she wrote several autobiographical books and also established her own foundation.

Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, 2013 in London at the age of eighty-seven. The funeral service took place at St. Paul's Cathedral with full military honours. The “iron lady” was buried next to her husband in the cemetery of a military hospital in Chelsea.

Celebrity biographies

4989

20.01.15 11:11

When she was gone, opponents celebrated wildly, singing the once popular song that “the witch is dead.” But there were still more of those who sincerely mourned Margaret Thatcher. “The Iron Lady” - that’s what both admirers and detractors called her, because she became the first female prime minister on the planet.

Biography of Margaret Thatcher

Budding Chemist

She was the daughter of a shopkeeper from the wealthy, but not at all wealthy, family of Alfred and Beatrice Roberts. Margaret Hilda was born in 1925, on October 13, in Lincolnshire (the small town of Grantham). The family had two grocery stores, and the Roberts' apartment was located directly above the retail space. Both Margaret and her sister Muriel had a strict upbringing. Alfred was a Methodist pastor, served on the municipal council and for some time even served as mayor of the city.

Margaret was versatile: she studied very well at school, was fond of sports (swimming, field hockey), wrote poetry, and played the piano. She went to Oxford and studied chemistry. In 1947, Roberts became a bachelor.

The biography of Margaret Thatcher became the biography of a political figure in 1950, when she first stood as a candidate for parliamentary elections (from the Dartford constituency). As a student, she researched the latest antibiotics, including the now very well-known gramicidin. And having moved to Dartford to participate in the elections, Margaret got a job at a local chemical company and worked on creating emulsifiers for ice cream. Both in 1950 and 1951, the girl candidate lost to a man, but they started talking about her, the press wrote enthusiastically about Margaret.

Member of the British Parliament

Her mother and father provided tangible support to her daughter, and then Margaret found herself with another loyal ally - her husband Denis Thatcher. The wedding took place at the end of 1951. A year and a half later, the ex-chemist took the post of barrister; in the same year, 1953, Margaret Thatcher’s children, twins Mark and Carol, were born.

She nevertheless became a member of the British Parliament in 1959. Margaret Thatcher's best qualities - her tenacity, the art of persuasion (as well as the ability to listen to her interlocutor), oratory skills - helped her become a skilled politician. In 1970, she received a very high post - Secretary of State for Education and Science. At the Institute of Economics, Thatcher became imbued with the ideas of Seldon and Harris, who rejected the concept of a welfare state.

Margaret Thatcher received the nickname “Iron Lady” after the sensational anti-Soviet speech she made in January 1976. She emphasized that the USSR wants world domination and is escalating aggression. For the first time, the journalists of “Red Star” called her the “Iron Lady”; when she heard about it, the lady did not mind - she liked it!

The Iron Lady became Prime Minister

Three years later, Margaret Thatcher won the election as leader of the Conservative Party. She became the first representative of the fair sex to lead such a large party in Great Britain. Also in 1979, the leader of the opposition took the responsible post of prime minister. The country was then swept by a wave of unemployment. And the first measures taken by the new resident of the Downey Street residence were aimed precisely at rectifying the situation. The privatization of state corporations, the opening of “flexible” labor markets, the reduction of the role of trade unions, the abolition of state control in the financial sphere - all this was done by the newly minted prime minister.

At first, Thatcher's radical measures were received with great enthusiasm. But unemployment did not decrease, and neither did instability in the stock market. Unrest in Ireland reached a “boiling point” when hunger strikes began there. IRA leaders organized an assassination attempt on the Iron Lady. Margaret Thatcher, however, was unshakable. And the ensuing Falkland Islands War strengthened her shaky reputation. And she again led in the 1983 elections.

End of the Cold War and resignation

It was the British Prime Minister who extended a friendly helping hand to Mikhail Gorbachev, supporting his reforms. She met with the Soviet leader in 1984, and a few years later declared the end of the Cold War. There was a year left before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In 1987, Margaret Thatcher's third term began. Her biography as a politician began to decline at this time. Disagreements in the Cabinet of Ministers, a new tax system - all this shook the “throne” of the leader. Margaret Thatcher was forced to resign in the autumn of 1990 after her open confrontation with Michael Heseltine.

Heavy losses

Baroness Thatcher left the House of Commons in 1992, but acted as a geopolitical consultant, wrote memoirs, criticized the situation in Yugoslavia and even tried to influence the government of Chile (she wanted freedom for the dictator Pinochet).

In 2003, the husband and constant ally of the ex-Prime Minister, husband Denis, died. It was a difficult loss. Thatcher’s health began to fail; although she attended the funeral of the former President of the United States, one of her allies, Reagan in 2004, she did not feel very well.

The 80th anniversary of the “Iron Lady” was magnificent. Next to their mother were the children of Margaret Thatcher, the most dear guests (along with Queen Elizabeth II and the new Prime Minister Tony Blair). They paid tribute to the hero of the day, recalled all her achievements and listed the qualities of Margaret Thatcher that allowed her to “stand at the helm” for so many years.

The years have taken their toll

But old age took its toll: several micro-strokes, subsequent dementia (all this was truthfully shown in the film “The Iron Lady”; Margaret Thatcher was played by the magnificent Meryl Streep in the film, for which she deserved an Oscar). The weakened woman could not appear in public, and on April 8, 2013, she died from another stroke.

The Baroness was buried in the capital's Cathedral of St. Paul and was buried with all honors. She planned all the funeral ceremonies in advance, “like clockwork.” The Iron Lady, even after death, tried to remain herself.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher (née Roberts) was born on October 13, 1925 in Grantham (Lincolnshire, UK) in the family of a grocer.

She was educated at Oxford, where she studied chemistry and became chairman of the university's Conservative Association.

After graduating in 1947, she worked as a chemist, first in Colchester (Essex), then in Dartford (Kent).

In 1950, she made her first attempt to start a political career: she was elected to parliament from the Conservative Party from Dartford.

The attempt ended in failure.

In 1953, she received a lawyer's diploma, practiced law, and specialized in tax law.

In 1959, Thatcher was elected to the House of Commons for the first time as a member of the Conservative Party. She took over as chairman of the parliamentary pensions committee, combining this position with the head of the national security committee.

In 1967, Thatcher was appointed to the shadow cabinet (the cabinet of ministers formed by the party in opposition to the party in power in Britain). Under Edward Heath, prime minister from 1970-1974, Margaret Thatcher headed the Department of Education as the only woman in government. Despite the fact that the Conservatives lost the election in 1975, Mrs. Thatcher retained her ministerial portfolio even in the Liberal government.

In February 1975, Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party.

The Conservative victory in the 1979 House of Commons elections made Margaret Thatcher prime minister. She became the first woman to hold this post in the UK.

During her years as head of government, Margaret Thatcher became the “Iron Lady”: in her office, all work was based on a clear hierarchy, accountability and high personal responsibility; she was an ardent defender of monetarism, limiting the activities of trade unions within the strict framework of laws. During her 11 years as head of the British cabinet, she carried out a number of tough economic reforms, initiated the transfer into private hands of sectors of the economy where the state monopoly had traditionally reigned (the airline British Airways, the gas giant British Gas and the telecommunications company British Telecom), and advocated an increase in taxes.

Following Argentina's occupation of the disputed Falkland Islands in 1982, Thatcher sent warships into the South Atlantic and British control of the islands was restored within weeks. This was a key factor in the Conservatives' second victory in the parliamentary elections in 1983.

Margaret Thatcher's third term as prime minister was the most difficult. After taking a number of unpopular measures, she lost support in her party and was effectively left with no choice but to leave her post. In November 1990, Thatcher announced her voluntary resignation "for the sake of party unity and the prospect of victory in the general election"; She was replaced by Finance Minister John Major.

After her resignation, she served as a member of the House of Commons until 1992.

In 1991, she founded and headed the Margaret Thatcher Foundation.

Thatcher held numerous academic degrees. Among them is an honorary doctorate from the Russian University of Chemical Technology named after D.I. Mendeleev.

She wrote two volumes of memoirs, The Downing Street Years (1993) and The Path to Power (1995), and the book Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World (2002).

On June 26, 1992, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain granted her the title of Baroness and she became a life member of the House of Lords.

In 1990, Margaret Thatcher received the Order of Merit, Britain's highest government honor. In 1995, she was awarded the title of Dame of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in Great Britain. In 2001, she was awarded the Chesney Gold Medal.

Thatcher also received awards from a number of foreign countries.

Health and age less and less allowed Baroness Thatcher to participate in public life. In the last years of her life, the “iron lady” experienced several mini-strokes and also suffered from senile dementia (dementia).

Margaret Thatcher has died. Baroness Thatcher's ashes, in accordance with her will, were buried on the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital next to her husband.

Margaret Thatcher's husband, Sir Denis Thatcher, died in June 2003 at the age of 88. The couple raised two children, twins Mark and Carol, born in 1953.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources