Margaret Hilda Thatcher(1925- ) is the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom(1979-1990), who served longer than any other British Prime Minister in the 20th century. In office she initiated what became known as the " Thatcher Revolution", a series of social and economic changes that transformed many aspects of Britain's postwar welfare state.
She was born Margaret Hilda Roberts in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England and educated at the University of Oxford, where she earned degrees in chemistry working as a research chemist between 1947 and 1951. She married Dennis Thatcher, a London business executive in 1951. Two years later, having studied for the bar she became a tax lawyer.
Joining the Conservative Party, Thatcher was elected
to the House of Commons in 1959. She held junior ministerial posts(1961-1964) before serving as secretary of state for education and science in Edward Heath's cabinet. She provoked a storm of protest by abolishing free milk in schools.
After the Conservative defeat in 1974, she challenged Heath for the leadership of the party and won the post in 1975.Four years later, she led the party to victory, defeating the Labor Party in parliamentary elections. Thatcher had pledged to reduce the influence of the trade unions and combat inflation and her economic policy rested on the introduction of broad changes along free-market lines.
In 1982 Argentine forces occupied the nearly Falkland Islands, which were claimed by both Argentina and the United Kingdom. Thatcher sent a task force to the islands and defeated the Argentine forces. By the success of her policy in the conflict, Thatcher led the Conservative Party to a sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections in 1983.
Her second government privatized national industries and utilities, including British Gas and British Telecommunications.
In 1980 she allowed the United States to station nuclear cruise missiles in Britain and to use its air bases to bomb Libya in 1986.
She proposed free market changes to the national health and education systems. In 1990 her refusal to support a common European currency and integrated economic policies led to the resignation of her treasury minister in 1989 and her deputy prime minister in 1990.
In November 1990 she resigned, after having lost the support of her party. In 1992 she was named Baroness Thatcher
About the Life of Margaret Thatcher written by Herminne Tonita for FamousWhy.com
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by Herminne Tonita -