One can argue endlessly about Thatcher. And people never tire of remembering her and admiring who she was for the whole world. The Iron Lady, who was feared by the entire political elite of the world and listened to by the most eminent men on Earth. And, meanwhile, the beginning of her life in no way suggested that little Margaret would turn out to be the best Prime Minister of England of our time.

But anything is possible if you passionately desire it and persistently build your career, brick by brick, without stopping for a moment. This is the most fundamental reason for Thatcher's success. The daughter of a small merchant, having spent her entire childhood in poverty, she even then had an insane desire to invade the “camp of male power” and become the Prime Minister of Great Britain! This then did not seem like the mental impudence of a woman “out of nowhere,” but she was able to do it so quickly and easily that no one had time to understand that the Iron Lady had come. The first and last female Prime Minister of England!

Thatcher immediately came into power as organically and beautifully as if she had been there for decades. And she began her “unbending” work, which made Great Britain for many years a power whose opinion was unconditionally listened to by all the “powers of this world.” Even US presidents. And they could not resist the intelligence, intelligence and toughness of Thatcher. They “gave in” to her “Jesuitic” cunning, like young guys; how she did it is still unclear.

Lady Thatcher left the brightest mark in the history of the world and influenced the way of thinking throughout Great Britain. And her greatest legacy: an example for women leaders that the impossible is possible and must be done!

Margaret Thatcher biography briefly

Margaret Thatcher young

Margaret Thatcher young

Margaret Hilda Thatcher- British politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990, leader of the British Conservative Party. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to hold the post of Prime Minister (analogous to President in other countries) of Great Britain.

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire on October 13, 1925. Her father was the owner of two grocery stores and an active local politician. After leaving school, Margaret studied at Oxford University from 1947-1951. worked as a research chemist.

In 1953, Thatcher received a law degree, after which she practiced law (1954-1957). In 1959 she was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley. In 1970, Edward Heath appointed Thatcher Secretary of State for Education and Research.

In 1979, Thatcher won a landslide victory in the internal elections of the Conservative Party, becoming the leader of the opposition and the first woman to lead a major British political party.

In 1979, after winning the general elections, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of Great Britain.

After leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher published two books of memoirs - 'The Downing Street Years' and 'The Path to Power'. In 1992, she was hired as a 'geopolitical consultant' at the tobacco company Philip Morris.

Domestic policy of Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher The Iron Lady

Thatcher launched a series of political and economic projects designed to solve problems in Britain, such as incredibly high unemployment. Thatcher's political philosophy was based on deregulation (particularly in the financial sector), flexible labor markets, privatization state companies and reducing the influence of trade unions.

She associated her program for improving the UK economy with reducing government spending, ending subsidies for unprofitable enterprises, and transferring state-owned corporations to private ownership; considered inflation a greater danger than unemployment. Reducing local government spending.

Initially, Thatcher enjoyed great popularity, but over time this popularity began to fade - the people did not like the general financial instability and unemployment that stubbornly refused to be overcome. The hunger strikes that took place in Ireland in 1981 and Thatcher’s response to them further aggravated the already unstable situation in Northern Ireland; Subsequently, IRA fighters even made an attempt on Thatcher’s life. The Falklands War was extremely beneficial for Thatcher and helped her win the election in 1983.

Firmness in upholding one’s views, rigidity in putting them into practice decisions taken secured the title of “Iron Lady” for Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher foreign policy in brief

On January 19, 1976, Thatcher made a loud anti-Soviet speech in which she accused the USSR of striving for world domination and aggressiveness, and her country of being overly peaceful in solving international problems. Soon after this, the Soviet newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda awarded Thatcher the nickname “Iron Lady” - which, by the way, she accepted and approved with some pleasure.

The foreign policy strategy of Margaret Thatcher's government provided for the revival of Great Britain's status as a great power and the inclusion of a wide range of global and regional issues, including those beyond the immediate interests of the country, into the orbit of British policy.

The British side initiated and guarantored constitutional reform in Southern Rhodesia and the holding of general elections in this country. Already in 1980, the independent Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) became a member of the Commonwealth.

Great Britain managed in the late 80s - early 90s. significantly strengthen its economic and military-political presence in traditional zones of influence.

Thatcher ordered an all-out invasion of the Falkland Islands, formerly a colony of England but captured by Argentina. On May 21, after intense artillery shelling from the sea and bombardment of Argentine positions from the air, detachments of British paratroopers were landed on the Falkland Islands. Hostilities ended on June 15. When the white flag of surrender was thrown at Port Stanley, Thatcher went to Downing Street. “Today Britain is Great Britain again. This is a great justification for everything we have done.”

Thatcher's successes foreign policy significantly strengthened its authority within the country.

The Falklands crisis significantly strengthened Anglo-American allied relations.

Thatcher strongly rejected the idea of ​​political integration of the member countries of the European Community.

Margaret Thatcher personal life

Margaret Thatcher with her husband and children

Margaret Thatcher family, husband and children

In her youth, Margaret had an affair with a young and very rich earl. But the young count’s parents did not like the grocer’s daughter.

The next time Margaret fell in love with a Scottish farmer. The farmer, while caring for Margaret, suddenly took an eye on her sister Muriel, a girl with little interest in politics, but well versed in cooking and home comfort.

Margaret Thatcher's only husband was Denis Thatcher, who was ten years older than her. For Denis, this marriage was the second. The marriage of Margaret and Denis is considered to be a marriage of convenience.

Thanks to her husband’s money, the “Iron Lady” was able to obtain a law degree, practice law, and pay for the election campaign for a seat in the House of Commons.

In 1953, Margaret Thatcher gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Mark Thatcher and Carol Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher's height and weight

Margaret Thatcher's height is 166 cm. Margaret Thatcher's weight is 64 kg (at the age of 53, when Margaret Thatcher took over as Prime Minister of Great Britain.)

The Iron Lady. Margaret Thatcher is the queen of politics. Brief information.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (née Roberts). Born 13 October 1925 in Grantham - died 8 April 2013 in London. 71st Prime Minister of Great Britain (Conservative Party) in 1979-1990, Baroness since 1992.

The first and so far only woman to hold this post, as well as the first woman to become prime minister of a European state. Thatcher's premiership was the longest in the 20th century. Having received a nickname "Iron Lady" for sharp criticism of the Soviet leadership, she implemented a number of conservative measures that became part of the policy of the so-called "Thatcherism".

Trained as a chemist, she became a lawyer and was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. In 1970 she was appointed Minister of Education and Research in the Conservative government of Edward Heath. In 1975, Heath won the election for the new head of the Conservative Party and became the head of the parliamentary opposition, as well as the first woman to lead one of the main parties in Great Britain. Following the Conservative Party's victory in the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister.

As head of government, she introduced political and economic reforms to reverse what she saw as the country's decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies were based on deregulation, especially of the financial system, providing a flexible labor market, privatizing state-owned companies and reducing the influence of trade unions. Thatcher's high popularity during the early years of her reign waned due to the recession and high level unemployment, but increased again during Falklands War 1982 and economic growth, which led to her re-election in 1983.

Thatcher was re-elected for a third time in 1987, but her proposed poll tax and views on Britain's role in the European Union were unpopular among her government. After Michael Heseltine challenged her leadership of the party, Thatcher was forced to resign as party leader and prime minister.

Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959-1992, after leaving the House of Commons, she received a life peerage and the title of Baroness.

Margaret Roberts was born on October 13, 1925. Father - Alfred Roberts is from Northamptonshire, mother - Beatrice Ithel (nee Stephenson) is from Lincolnshire. She spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned two grocery stores. Together with her older sister, Muriel was raised in an apartment above one of her father's grocery stores, located near the railroad. Margaret's father took an active part in local politics and the life of the religious community, being a member of the municipal council and a Methodist pastor. For this reason, his daughters were raised in strict Methodist traditions. Alfred himself was born into a family liberal views However, as was then customary in local government, he was non-partisan. He was mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946, and in 1952, after the Labor Party's landslide victory in the 1950 municipal elections, which gave the party its first majority on Grantham Council, he ceased to be an alderman.

Roberts attended primary school in Huntingtower Road, then received a scholarship to Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School. Reports on Margaret's academic progress indicate the student's diligence and constant work on self-improvement. She took elective classes in playing the piano, field hockey, swimming and race walking, and poetry courses. In 1942-1943 she was a senior student. In her final year of university prep school, she applied for a scholarship to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford University. Although she was initially rejected, after the refusal of another applicant, Margaret still managed to receive a scholarship. In 1943 she came to Oxford and in 1947 after four years studying chemistry, she received a second degree diploma, becoming a bachelor of natural sciences. In her final year of study, she worked in the laboratory of Dorothy Hodgkin, where she was involved in X-ray diffraction analysis of the antibiotic gramicidin C.

In 1946, Roberts became chair of the Oxford University Conservative Party Association. The greatest influence on her Political Views While studying at the university, I was influenced by Friedrich von Hayek's The Road to Serfdom (1944), which viewed government intervention in the country's economy as a precursor to the authoritarian state.

After graduating from university, Roberts moved to Colchester in Essex, England, where she worked as a research chemist for BX Plastics. At the same time she joined the local Conservative Party association and took part in the 1948 Llandudno party conference as a representative of the Conservative Alumni Association. One of Margaret's Oxford friends was also a friend of the chairman of the Dartford Conservative Party Association in Kent, which was looking for candidates for the election. The association's chairmen were so impressed with Margaret that they persuaded her to take part in the election, although she herself was not on the approved list of Conservative Party candidates: Margaret was not elected as a candidate until January 1951 and was included on the electoral list. At a celebration dinner following her official confirmation as the Conservative Party candidate in Dartford in February 1951, Roberts met successful and wealthy divorced businessman Denis Thatcher. In preparation for the election, she moved to Dartford, where she took a job as a research chemist with J. Lyons and Co., developing emulsifiers used in the production of ice cream.

At the general elections of February 1950 and October 1951, Roberts contested the Dartford constituency, where Labor had traditionally won. As the youngest candidate and the only woman to run, she attracted media attention. Despite losing to Norman Dodds in both cases, Margaret managed to reduce Labor support among the electorate, first by 6,000 votes, and then by a further 1,000 votes. During the election campaign, she was supported by her parents, as well as by Denis Thatcher, whom she married in December 1951. Denis also helped his wife become a member of the bar association; in 1953 she became a barrister specializing in tax matters. In the same year, twins were born into the family - daughter Carol and son Mark.

In the mid-1950s, Thatcher renewed her bid for a seat in Parliament. She failed to become the Conservative Party candidate for Orpington in 1955, but became a candidate for Finchley in April 1958. In the 1959 elections, Thatcher, after a difficult election campaign, nevertheless won, becoming a member of the House of Commons. In her first speech as a parliamentarian, she spoke in support of the government agencies, requiring local councils to make their meetings public, and in 1961 refused to support the official Conservative Party position by voting to reinstate caning.

In October 1961, Thatcher was nominated to become Parliamentary Undersecretary for Pensions and State social insurance in Harold Macmillan's office. After the defeat of the Conservative Party in the 1964 parliamentary elections, she became the party's spokesman on issues housing construction And land ownership, defending the right of tenants to buy out municipal residential buildings. In 1966, Thatcher became a member of the Treasury's shadow team and, as a delegate, opposed Labour's proposed mandatory price and income controls, arguing that they would be counterproductive and ruin the country's economy.

At the 1966 Conservative Party conference she criticized the Labor government's high tax policies. In her opinion, this was “not just a step on the path to socialism, but a step on the path to communism.” Thatcher emphasized the need to keep taxes low as an incentive to work hard. She was also one of the few members of the House of Commons to support decriminalization of homosexuals and voted to legalize abortion and ban sighted hare hunting with greyhounds. In addition, Thatcher supported maintaining the death penalty and voted against weakening the divorce law.

In 1967, she was selected by the US Embassy in London to participate in the International Visits Program, which gave Thatcher a unique professional exchange opportunity to visit US cities for six weeks, meet with various political figures and visit international organizations such as the IMF. A year later, Margaret became a member of the Shadow Cabinet of the official opposition, overseeing issues related to the fuel sector. Just before the 1970 general election she worked on transport and then education.

From 1970 to 1974, Margaret Thatcher was Minister of Education and Science in Edward Heath's cabinet.

In the parliamentary elections of 1970, the Conservative Party under the leadership of Edward Heath won. In the new government, Thatcher was appointed Minister of Education and Science. In her first months in office, Margaret attracted public attention for her efforts to cut costs in this area. She gave priority to academic needs in schools and lowered spending on state system education, as a result of which it was canceled free issue milk for schoolchildren aged seven to eleven years. At the same time, the supply of one-third pint milk to younger children was maintained. Thatcher's policies drew criticism from the Labor Party and the media, who called Margaret "Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher" in English- “Margaret Thatcher, the milk stealer”). In her autobiography, Thatcher later wrote: “I learned a valuable lesson. She incurred the maximum amount of political hatred for the minimum amount of political gain.”

Thatcher's tenure as Minister of Education and Science was also marked by proposals for more active closure of literacy schools by local education authorities and the introduction of a single secondary education. Overall, despite Margaret's intention to maintain literacy schools, the proportion of pupils attending comprehensive secondary schools increased from 32 to 62%.

After a number of difficulties faced by the Heath government during 1973 (oil crisis, trade union demands for higher wages), the Conservative Party was defeated by Labor in the parliamentary elections of February 1974. At the next general election, held in October 1974, the Conservatives' result was even worse. Against the backdrop of declining support for the party among the population, Thatcher entered the race for the post of chairman of the Conservative Party. Promising to carry out party reforms, she enlisted the support of the so-called 1922 Committee, uniting conservative members of Parliament. In the 1975 election for party chairman, Thatcher defeated Heath in the first round of voting, who was forced to resign. In the second round, she defeated William Whitelaw, who was considered Heath's preferred successor, and on February 11, 1975, she officially became chairman of the Conservative Party, appointing Whitelaw as her deputy.

After her election, Thatcher began regularly attending official dinners at the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank founded by the tycoon and student of Friedrich von Hayek, Anthony Fischer. Participation in these meetings significantly influenced her views, which were now shaped by the ideas of Ralph Harris and Arthur Seldon. As a result, Thatcher became the face of an ideological movement that opposed the idea of ​​the welfare state. The institute's brochures offered the following recipe for the recovery of the British economy: less government intervention in the economy, lower taxes and more freedom for entrepreneurs and consumers.

On January 19, 1976, Thatcher issued a sharp attack on the Soviet Union: “The Russians are bent on world domination, and they are rapidly acquiring the funds necessary to establish themselves as the most powerful imperial state the world has ever seen. Men in the Soviet Politburo don't have to worry about rapid turnover public opinion. They chose guns instead of butter, while for us almost everything else is more important than guns.".

In response to this The newspaper of the USSR Ministry of Defense "Red Star" called Thatcher the "iron lady". Soon the translation of this nickname in the English newspaper “The Sunday Times” as “Iron Lady” firmly stuck with Margaret.

Despite the recovery of the British economy in the late 1970s, the Labor government was faced with public anxiety about the country's future path, as well as a series of strikes in the winter of 1978-1979 (this chapter in British history became known as the "Winter of Discontent"). The Conservatives, in turn, launched regular attacks on Labour, primarily blaming them for record levels of unemployment. After James Callaghan's government received a vote of no confidence in early 1979, early parliamentary elections were called in Great Britain.

The Conservatives built their campaign promises around economic issues, arguing for the need for privatization and liberal reforms. They promised to fight inflation and weaken trade unions, since the strikes they organized were causing significant damage to the economy.

In the elections of 3 May 1979, the Conservatives won decisively, receiving 43.9% of the vote and 339 seats in the House of Commons (Labour received 36.9% of the vote and 269 seats in the House of Commons), and on 4 May Thatcher became the first woman prime minister Great Britain. In this post, Thatcher made vigorous efforts to reform the British economy and society as a whole.

In the 1983 parliamentary elections, Thatcher's Conservatives received the support of 42.43% of voters, while Labor received only 27.57% of the vote. This was also facilitated by the crisis in the Labor Party, which proposed a further increase in government spending, restoring the public sector to its previous size and increasing taxes on the rich. In addition, there was a split in the party, and an influential part of the Labor Party (“Gang of Four”) founded the Social Democratic Party, which competed in these elections together with the Liberal Party. Finally, factors such as the aggressiveness of neoliberal ideology, the populism of Thatcherism, the radicalization of trade unions, and the Falklands War played against Labor.

In the 1987 parliamentary elections, the Conservatives won again, receiving 42.3% of the vote against Labor's 30.83%. This was due to the fact that Thatcher, thanks to the tough and unpopular measures she took in the economic and social sphere, managed to achieve stable economic growth. Foreign investments that began to actively flow into the UK contributed to the modernization of production and an increase in the competitiveness of manufactured products. At the same time, the Thatcher government managed to keep inflation at a very low level for a long time. In addition, by the end of the 80s, thanks to the measures taken, the unemployment rate was significantly reduced.

Particular attention from the media was paid to the relationship between the Prime Minister and the Queen, with whom weekly meetings were held to discuss current political issues. In July 1986, the British newspaper Sunday Times published an article in which the author alleged that there were differences between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street on “a wide range of issues relating to domestic and foreign policy.” In response to this article, the Queen's representatives issued an official denial, dismissing any possibility of a constitutional crisis in Britain. After Thatcher left the post of Prime Minister, those around Elizabeth II continued to call “nonsense” any allegations that the Queen and the Prime Minister were in conflict with each other. Subsequently, the former Prime Minister wrote: “I have always considered the Queen’s attitude towards the work of the Government to be completely correct ... the stories about the contradictions between “two influential women” were too good not to invent them.”

After the English riots of 1981, the British media spoke openly about the need for fundamental changes in the country's economic course. However, at the 1980 Conservative party conference, Thatcher openly declared: “Turn if you want. The lady doesn’t turn!”

In December 1980, Thatcher's approval rating had fallen to 23%, the lowest ever for a British prime minister. As the economy worsened and the recession deepened in the early 1980s, Thatcher raised taxes despite concerns from leading economists.

By 1982, there were positive changes in the UK economy, indicating its recovery: the inflation rate dropped from 18% to 8.6%. However, for the first time since the 1930s, the number of unemployed people was over 3 million. By 1983, economic growth accelerated, and inflation and mortgage rates reached their lowest levels since 1970. Despite this, production fell by 30% compared to 1970, and the number of unemployed reached its peak in 1984 - 3.3 million people.

By 1987, the country's unemployment rate had dropped, the economy had stabilized, and inflation rates were relatively low. An important role in supporting the UK economy was played by revenues from a 90% tax on North Sea oil, which were also actively used to implement reforms during the 1980s.

Opinion polls showed that the Conservative Party enjoyed the greatest support among the population, and the Conservatives' successful local council election results prompted Thatcher to call parliamentary elections for June 11, although the deadline for holding them was not until 12 months later. According to the election results, Margaret retained the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain for a third term.

During her third prime ministerial term, Thatcher carried out a tax reform, the revenue from which went to the budgets of local governments: instead of a tax based on the nominal rental value of a house, the so-called “community tax” (poll tax) was introduced, which was supposed to remain in the same amount pay every adult resident of the house. This type of tax was introduced in Scotland in 1989, and in England and Wales in 1990. Reforming the tax system became one of the most unpopular measures during Thatcher's premiership. Public discontent resulted in large demonstrations in London on March 31, 1990, in which about 70 thousand people took part. Demonstrations in Trafalgar Square eventually turned into riots, during which 113 people were injured and 340 people were arrested. Extreme public dissatisfaction with the tax led Thatcher's successor, John Major, to repeal it.

On October 12, 1984, the Irish Republican Army carried out an assassination attempt on Thatcher., detonating a bomb in a Brighton hotel during the Conservative conference. As a result of the terrorist attack, five people were killed, including the wife of one of the members of the Cabinet of Ministers. Thatcher herself was unharmed and opened the party conference the next day. As planned, she gave a presentation, which attracted support from political circles and increased her popularity among the public.

On November 6, 1981, Thatcher and Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald established the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council, which included regular meetings between representatives of both governments. On November 15, 1985, Thatcher and Fitzgerald signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle, according to which the reunification of Ireland was to occur only if the majority of the population of Northern Ireland supported this idea. In addition, for the first time in history, the British government provided the Irish Republic with an advisory role in the governance of Northern Ireland. It called for an intergovernmental conference of Irish and British officials to discuss political and other issues relating to Northern Ireland, with the Irish Republic representing the interests of Northern Irish Catholics.

In foreign policy, Thatcher was guided by the United States and supported Ronald Reagan's initiatives towards the USSR, which both politicians viewed with distrust. During her first term as prime minister, she supported NATO's decision to deploy ground-launched BGM-109G missiles and short-range Pershing 1A missiles in Western Europe, and also authorized the US military, starting November 14, 1983, to deploy more than 160 cruise missiles on at the US air force base Greenham Common, located in Berkshire, England, which caused mass protests from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. In addition, Great Britain under Thatcher purchased Trident missiles worth more than £12 billion (in 1996-1997 prices) for installation on its SSBNs, which were supposed to replace the Polaris missiles. As a result, the country's nuclear forces tripled.

Thus, in matters of defense, the British government relied entirely on the United States. The “Westland case” received significant publicity in January 1986. Thatcher made every effort to ensure that the national helicopter manufacturer Westland rejected a merger proposal from the Italian company Agusta in favor of an offer from American company Sikorsky Aircraft. Subsequently, British Secretary of State for Defense Michael Heseltine, who supported the Agusta deal, resigned.

On April 2, 1982, Argentine troops landed on the British Falkland Islands, triggering the outbreak of the Falklands War.

The ensuing crisis, as history has shown, became a key event in the years of his premiership. At the suggestion of Harold Macmillan and Robert Armstrong, Thatcher became the creator and chairman of the war cabinet, which by April 5-6 set the British Navy the task of regaining control of the islands. On June 14, the Argentine military surrendered, and the military operation ended in success for the British side, although 255 British soldiers and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the conflict. The Argentine side lost 649 people (of which 323 people died as a result of the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano by a British nuclear submarine). During the conflict, Thatcher was criticized for neglecting the defense of the Falkland Islands, as well as for the decision to sink the General Belgrano. Nevertheless, Thatcher was able to use all military and diplomatic options to restore British sovereignty over the islands. This policy was welcomed by the British, which significantly strengthened the shaky position of the Conservatives and Thatcher's leadership in the party before the 1983 parliamentary elections. Thanks to the Falklands factor, the economic recovery of early 1982 and divisions among Labor, the Conservative Party led by Thatcher managed to win the election. Thatcher, unlike many Conservatives, was cool to the idea of ​​further deepening European integration. In 1988, in a speech in Bruges, she opposed EEC initiatives to increase centralization in decision-making and create federal structures. Although Thatcher was generally in favor of Britain's membership in the integration association, she believed that the organization's role should be limited to issues of ensuring free trade and effective competition. Despite the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson and Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe, Margaret was categorically against the country's participation in the European Mechanism, the forerunner of the European Monetary Union, believing it would impose restrictions on the British economy. However, John Major managed to convince Thatcher, and in October 1990, Great Britain became a participant in the mechanism.

The role of the British Commonwealth diminished under Thatcher. Thatcher's disappointment in this organization was explained by the increased, from her point of view, interest of the Commonwealth in resolving the situation in southern Africa on terms that did not meet the demands of British conservatives. Thatcher saw the Commonwealth only as a useful structure for negotiations, which were of little value.

Thatcher was one of the first Western politicians to positively assess the reformist sentiments of the Soviet leader, with whom she first held negotiations in London in December 1984. Back in November 1988 - a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the East European socialist regimes - she for the first time openly declared the end of the Cold War: “We are no longer in a Cold War”, since “the new relationship is broader than ever.” In 1985 Thatcher visited Soviet Union and met with Mikhail Gorbachev and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikolai Ryzhkov. Initially, she opposed the possible unification of Germany. According to her, this “will lead to a change in the post-war borders, and we cannot allow this, since such a development of events will call into question the stability of the entire international situation and may threaten our security.” In addition, Thatcher feared that a united Germany would cooperate more with the USSR, relegating NATO to the background. At the same time, the Prime Minister supported the independence of Croatia and Slovenia.

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 support among the population (about 40%) among all post-war prime ministers of Great Britain. 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, but after consultation with the Cabinet she decided to withdraw from the election. 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.

After leaving the post of Prime Minister, Thatcher served as Member of the House of Commons for Finchley for two years. In 1992, at the age of 66, she decided to leave the British Parliament, which, in her opinion, gave her the opportunity to more openly express her opinions on certain events.

After leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher became the first former British prime minister to establish the fund. In 2005, due to financial difficulties, it was closed. Thatcher wrote two volumes of memoirs: The Downing Street Years (1993) and The Path to Power (1995).

In July 1992, Margaret was hired by the Philip Morris tobacco company as a "geopolitical consultant" with official salary of $250,000 and an annual contribution of $250,000 to her foundation. In addition, she received $50,000 for each public appearance.

In August 1992, Thatcher called on NATO to stop the Serb massacres in the Bosnian cities of Gorazde and Sarajevo, ending the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian War. She compared the situation in Bosnia to the “worst excesses of the Nazis,” saying the situation in the region could become a new Holocaust. Thatcher also spoke in the House of Lords criticizing the Maastricht Treaty, which she said “she would never have signed.”

Against the background of growing interest of Western oil companies in the energy resources of the Caspian Sea, in September 1992, Thatcher visited Baku, where she took part in the signing of an agreement on the assessment development of the Chirag and Shahdeniz fields between the Government of Azerbaijan and the companies - British Petroleum and Norwegian Statoil.

In 1998, following the arrest by Spanish authorities of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to stand trial for massive human rights abuses, Thatcher called for his release, citing his support for Britain during the Falklands conflict. In 1999 she visited former politician, who was under house arrest in a London suburb. Pinochet was released by Home Secretary Jack Straw in March 2000 for medical reasons.

During the 2001 parliamentary elections, Thatcher supported the Conservatives, although she did not approve the candidacy of Ian Duncan Smith for the post of leader of the Conservative Party, as was the case with John Major and William Hague. Nevertheless, immediately after the election she gave preference to Duncan Smith over Kenneth Clarke.

In March 2002, Thatcher released the book “The Art of Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World,” which she dedicated to Ronald Reagan (the book was also published in Russian). In it, Margaret expressed her position on a number of international political events and processes. She argued that there would be no peace in the Middle East until Saddam Hussein was overthrown; wrote about the need for Israel to sacrifice territory in exchange for peace, utopianism European Union. In her opinion, Britain needs to reconsider the terms of its membership in the EU or even leave the integration entity by joining NAFTA.

On 11 June 2004, Thatcher attended the funeral. Due to health problems, a video recording of her funeral speech was made in advance. Then Thatcher, along with Reagan's entourage, went to California, where she attended a memorial service and burial ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Margaret celebrated her 80th birthday on October 13, 2005 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London. Guests included Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Alexandra of Kent and Tony Blair. Geoffrey Howe, who also attended the celebrations, said that "her real triumph transformed not just one party but both parties, so that when Labor returned to power, most of the principles of Thatcherism were taken for granted by them.”

In 2006, Thatcher attended the official memorial service in Washington, DC, as a guest of Dick Cheney. terrorist acts September 11, 2001. During the visit, Margaret met with the US Secretary of State.

In February 2007, Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister to have a monument erected in the British Parliament during her lifetime (the official opening took place on February 21, 2007 in the presence of the former politician). Bronze statue with elongated right hand located opposite the statue of the political idol Thatcher -. Thatcher made a short speech in the House of Commons, declaring that "I would rather have an iron statue, but bronze will do... It won't rust."

At the end of November 2009, Thatcher briefly returned to 10 Downing Street to present to the public her official portrait by artist Richard Stone (who also created portraits of Elizabeth II and her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon). This event was a manifestation of special respect for former prime minister, who was still alive.

In 2002, Thatcher suffered several mini-strokes, after which the doctor advised her to refuse to participate in public events and withdraw from public and political activity. After collapsing during lunch in the House of Commons on 7 March 2008, she was taken to St Thomas' Hospital in central London. In June 2009, she was hospitalized due to a broken arm. Until the end of her life she suffered from dementia (senile dementia).

At the 2010 Conservative party conference, the country's new Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he would invite Thatcher back to 10 Downing Street on the occasion of her 85th birthday, in honor of which celebrations would be held with the participation of former and current ministers. However, Margaret ruled out any celebrations, citing the flu. On April 29, 2011, Thatcher was invited to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, but did not attend the ceremony due to poor health.

IN last years 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 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. 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.

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 in 1970–1974, Margaret Thatcher was 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 landslide victory of the Conservatives in the 1979 House of Commons elections made Margaret Thatcher prime minister. Until now, she remains the only woman to hold this post in the UK.

During Margaret Thatcher's years as head of government: 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. It has become key factor for the second victory of the Conservatives in parliamentary elections, in 1983.

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

Margaret Thatcher(nee Roberts) was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Her father Alfred Roberts owned groceries and took an active part in local politics and the life of the religious community - he was a member of the municipal council and a Methodist pastor, for some time he was even the mayor of Grantham. Margaret and her sister Muriel were brought up in strict traditions. Margaret Roberts studied diligently at school and attended many extracurricular activities.

Chemistry and life

Margaret Thatcher was originally trained as a chemist. She studied chemistry for four years at Oxford University and received a Bachelor of Science degree. Then she worked briefly as a research chemist and was involved in the development of emulsifiers for the production of ice cream.

Political career

While still a student, Margaret Roberts became chair of the Oxford University Conservative Party Association. Since the early 1950s, she began to fight for a seat in parliament and in 1959 finally achieved her goal, becoming a member of the House of Commons.

She was nominated to the post of parliamentary undersecretary for pensions and state social insurance, then worked on issues of construction and land ownership, in the House of Commons she supported the retention of the death penalty and at the same time voted for the release of homosexuals from criminal liability.

In the late 1960s, she participated in the International Visits Program, through which she was able to meet with US politicians, and subsequently became a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. In 1970, after the Conservatives came to power, Margaret Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science, a post she held until 1974. After the defeat of the Conservatives, Thatcher was the leader of the opposition.

First woman as prime minister

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first and so far only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain. She served three terms in this post - the longest of any prime minister since 1827. She was also the first female prime minister of a European state.

In fact, it was Margaret Thatcher who was entrusted with the decision from 1979 to 1990 critical issues, concerning the political course of Great Britain, since the head of government in Britain, although appointed by the monarch, performs many functions that nominally belong to the monarch.

"The Iron Lady"

Margaret Thatcher received this nickname for her conservative policies and tough, unbending character. A Soviet military journalist called her the first “iron lady” in response to harsh criticism of the USSR. Yuri Gavrilov in his article in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper dated January 24, 1979. However, she had not yet taken office as prime minister.

As translated by British journalists, the “iron lady” became “the iron lady,” and this nickname was subsequently firmly attached to Thatcher.

Politics Margaret Thatcher

As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher introduced many major reforms in a variety of areas. She sought to change what she saw as the cause of Britain's decline.

Margaret Thatcher advocated reducing government intervention in the economy (deregulation), reducing the influence of trade unions, and reducing spending on the social sector. She also carried out privatization - the sale of many state-owned enterprises, and increased taxes. This caused the decline of the mining and manufacturing industries, but marked a stage in the transition to the production of services rather than goods.

At the same time, Thatcher's economic policies were responsible for rising unemployment, although the short and victorious Falklands War contributed to her popularity. After her resignation due to a split in the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher remained a member of the House of Commons for two more years.

Margaret Thatcher always sharply criticized the Soviet Union; communism was unacceptable to her. However, she believed that communist and capitalist countries could coexist through mutual compromise. In foreign policy, she was guided by the United States and always spoke harshly of Soviet political leaders. Only Mikhail Gorbachev she called “a person with whom she could deal.”

Thatcherism

The economic and social policies pursued by Margaret Thatcher came to be called Thatcherism. Many cannot be indifferent to this policy, as well as to the figure of Thatcher herself. Thatcher's opponents believe that through her policies she did everything to weaken Great Britain. For supporters of the “Iron Lady,” on the contrary, she is an iconic figure.

Assassination

In 1984, the Irish Republican Army attempted to assassinate Margaret Thatcher. Separatists planted a bomb in a Brighton hotel during the Conservative Party conference. Five people were killed, but Thatcher herself was not injured.

Personal life

Your husband, businessman Denis Thatcher, Margaret Roberts met back in 1949. They met at a dinner to celebrate Margaret's official confirmation as the Conservative Party candidate in Dartford. In 1951 they got married, and in 1953 twins Carol and Mark were born to this marriage.

Denis Thatcher was 10 years older than Margaret, and this was his second marriage. By coincidence, Denis Thatcher's first wife was also named Margaret.

Margaret and Denis Thatcher were married for many years. In her autobiography, Margaret wrote that without the support of her husband, she would never have become prime minister. After her resignation, Denis Thatcher received the title of baronet, and Margaret Thatcher, accordingly, became a baroness.

Denis Thatcher died in 2003; his famous wife survived him by 10 years.

Disease

In recent years, Margaret Thatcher rarely appeared in public due to health problems. She suffered several heart attacks and suffered from dementia (senile dementia). In 2012, she underwent surgery to remove a bladder tumor.

Read more in the story >>

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 political career: Elected to Parliament for 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