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'''Margaret Thatcher''' (born October 13, 1925) became the leader of the Conservatives in [[The United Kingdom]] in February 1975. She was opposed to socialism out the of control union power that had brought down the previous Conservative government in 1974 and ran on these issues, resulting in her being elected as Prime Minister in May 1975 with the Conservatives sweeping into power. She sold many of the nationalized industries back to private investors and made tax cuts. Thatcher stood up against the powerful Labour Party unions, thus encouraging the British coal and newspaper industries by breaking the power of the corrupt unions who had a stranglehold over these industries. Due to her strong standards and her leadership style, she became known as the "Iron Lady," a term originally coined as an insult by the communist [[Soviet Union]], but one she adopted with glee. Another famous statement of hers is that "the lady is not for turning" Thatcher was always a strong supporter of the the [[United States of America]], and was a good friend of their President [[Ronald Reagan]], uniting with him in actions against the Communists. She led Britain to victory against [[Argentina]] in a 1982 war over ownership of the [[Falkland Islands]], and though the United States were allies of both countries and did initially try to wager a negotiated settlement, when that failed the Americans supported Britain and not Argentina with vital intelligence information. Thatcher won 3 elections between 1979 and her ousting from power by her own party in 1990. Margaret Thatcher was the longest serving Prime Minister for more than 150 years, and alongside Winston Churchill, many consider her to be one of the two most important British political leaders of the twentieth century.
'''Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher''' (born October 13, 1925) became the leader of the Conservatives in [[The United Kingdom]] in February 1975. She was opposed to socialism out the of control union power that had brought down the previous Conservative government in 1974 and ran on these issues, resulting in her being elected as Prime Minister in May 1975 with the Conservatives sweeping into power. She sold many of the nationalized industries back to private investors and made tax cuts. Thatcher stood up against the powerful Labour Party unions, thus encouraging the British coal and newspaper industries by breaking the power of the corrupt unions who had a stranglehold over these industries. Due to her strong standards and her leadership style, she became known as the "Iron Lady," a term originally coined as an insult by the communist [[Soviet Union]], but one she adopted with glee. Another famous statement of hers is that "the lady is not for turning" Thatcher was always a strong supporter of the the [[United States of America]], and was a good friend of their President [[Ronald Reagan]], uniting with him in actions against the Communists. She led Britain to victory against [[Argentina]] in a 1982 war over ownership of the [[Falkland Islands]], and though the United States were allies of both countries and did initially try to wager a negotiated settlement, when that failed the Americans supported Britain and not Argentina with vital intelligence information. Thatcher won 3 elections between 1979 and her ousting from power by her own party in 1990. Margaret Thatcher was the longest serving Prime Minister for more than 150 years, and alongside Winston Churchill, many consider her to be one of the two most important British political leaders of the twentieth century.
[[Time Magazine]] wrote of her: ''"She was the catalyst who set in motion a series of interconnected events that gave a revolutionary twist to the century's last two decades and helped mankind end the millennium on a note of hope and confidence. The triumph of capitalism, the almost universal acceptance of the market as indispensable to prosperity, the collapse of Soviet imperialism, the downsizing of the state on nearly every continent and in almost every country in the world — Margaret Thatcher played a part in all those transformations, and it is not easy to see how any would have occurred without her. Champion of free minds and markets, she helped topple the welfare state and make the world safer for capitalism"'' [http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]
==Quick Facts==
==Quick Facts==
Education: Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School and Somerville College, Oxford
Education: Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School and Somerville College, Oxford
Before Thatcher became an MP, she worked as a research chemist for British Xylonite and then Lyons & Company, where she helped develop methods for preserving ice cream.
Family: Margaret Thatcher is the younger of two daughters. She married Sir Dennis Thatcher, and has one son and one daughter
Family: Margaret Thatcher is the younger of two daughters. She married Sir Dennis Thatcher, and has one son and one daughter
Interests: Music, art, opera and reading
Interests: Music, art, opera and reading
==Biography==
Margaret Thatcher was the longest serving Prime Minister for more than 150 years and was the first woman ever to take the role. Her father, a shopkeeper and Mayor of Grantham, was a major formative influence. Thatcher was educated at the local grammar school and she studied on scholarship, worked her way to [[Oxford University]] and took two degrees, in chemistry and law. . She also became president of the university [[Conservative]] association. She later read for the Bar, before being elected in 1959 as the Conservative MP for Finchley. Mrs. Thatacher held junior posts before becoming shadow spokesperson for Education, and entered the Cabinet as Education Secretary in 1970.
In Opposition she stood against [[Edward Heath]] for the party leadership in 1975. Her victory was considered a surprise by many. In 1979, the Conservative Party won the General Election and Margaret Thatcher succeeded [[James Callaghan]] as PM.
Thatcher's first two years in office were not easy. Unemployment was very high, but the economy gradually showed improvement. She brought more of her supporters into the Cabinet, and bolstered her reputation by leading the country to war against [[Argentina]] in the [[Falkland Islands]].
The Conservatives went on to win the 1983 election by a landslide, aided by a fragmented opposition. Margaret Thatcher's government followed a radical programme of privatisation and deregulation, reform of the Trade Unions, tax cuts and the introduction of market mechanisms into health and education. The aim was to reduce the role of government and increase individual self-reliance.
She also became a familiar figure internationally, striking up a famous friendship with US President Reagan and gaining the praise of Soviet leader Gorbachev.
One great difficulty during her time in office was the issue of [[Europe]], and the [[European Union]] Her long-serving Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe resigned in November 1990 in protest at Thatcher's attitude to Europe. His resignation speech set in train events which were to lead to Thatcher's downfall later that month.
Michael Heseltine challenged her for the leadership, and while he failed to win, he gained 152 votes - enough to make it evident that a crucial minority favoured a change. Thatcher was eventually persuaded not to go forward to the second ballot, which was won by her Chancellor of the Exchequer, [[John Major]].
She left the House of Commons in 1992, and now sits in the Lords as Baroness Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher's writings include two volumes of memoirs: ''The Downing Street Years'' and ''The Path to Power''. Baroness Thatcher is still seen at Tory party gatherings and has endorsed party leaders such as William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.
[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp][http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]
==Husband==
Denis Thatcher, ''as the first male PM spouse in history'', was always likely to be the centre of media attention - and he didn't disappoint.
When she met him, Baroness Thatcher remarked that "it was clear to me at once that Denis was an exceptional man - he had a certain style and dash." Described as a man of integrity, humour and common sense, he had a strong business background and fought with the Royal Artillery during the war.
It was said that Denis was in 'the Thatcher party not the Tory party'. He once famously remarked, recalling the words of Mark Twain, that: "it's better to keep my mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt."
When he died in 2003 his wife paid tribute to the man she loved by saying: "Being PM is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be - you cannot lead from a crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend."
== "Thatcherisms" ==
== "Thatcherisms" ==
*"I just owe almost everything to my father [and] it's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election."
*"I just owe almost everything to my father [and] it's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election."
*"Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend."
*"Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend." [http://www.quoteworld.org/authors/margaret-thatcher/1/]
[http://www.quoteworld.org/authors/margaret-thatcher/1/]
*"It will be years before a woman either leads the Conservative Party or becomes Prime Minister. I don't see it happening in my time" (in 1970)[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp]