Who is baroness margaret thatcher. History of success

In 1967, Thatcher was introduced into the shadow cabinet (a cabinet formed by a party that is in opposition to the ruling party in Britain). Under Edward Heath, prime minister from 1970-1974, Margaret Thatcher, being the only woman in government. Despite the fact that in 1975 the Conservatives lost the election, 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 1979 in the elections to the House of Commons made Margaret Thatcher Prime Minister. Until now, she has remained the only woman to hold this post in the UK.

During the years of tenure as head of government, Margaret Thatcher: in her cabinet, all work was based on a clear hierarchy, accountability and high personal responsibility; she was an ardent defender of monetarism, restricting the activities of trade unions by a rigid framework of laws. During her 11 years as head of the British Cabinet, she carried out a series of tough economic reforms, initiated the transfer to private hands of sectors of the economy where the state had traditionally enjoyed a monopoly (British Airways, the gas giant British Gas and the British Telecom telecommunications company), advocated an increase in taxes.
After being occupied by Argentina in 1982 disputed territory- The Falklands, Thatcher sent warships into the South Atlantic, and British control of the islands was restored in a matter of weeks. This was a key factor in the second victory of the Conservatives in the parliamentary elections, in 1983.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Margaret Thatcher's biography is briefly presented in Russian in this article.

Margaret Thatcher short biography

Thatcher Margaret Hilda was born October 13, 1925 in the city of Grantham in the family of a grocer. After graduating from school, she studied at Oxford University, in 1947-1951 she began working as a research chemist. But such work did not bring her pleasure. Margaret wanted to change the world, change people's minds and change their lives in better side. Over time, the future "iron lady" became seriously interested in politics and in 1950 for the first time put forward her own candidacy in parliamentary elections. But she failed.

Margaret marries wealthy Denis Thatcher. Some considered this marriage beneficial for the woman. Thanks to the wealth of her husband, who was also 10 years her senior, Thatcher decided to study law, which she did in 1953. In the same year, she gave birth to her husband twins - a boy and a girl. After receiving her diploma, she began practicing law. And already in 1959 she was elected to parliament. She took the first step towards her dream.

Between 1961 and 1964, Margaret Thatcher was a junior minister in charge of pensions and social insurance. From 1970 to 1974 she served as Minister of Science and Education.

In 1974, the Conservative Party lost the election, and it was Thatcher's finest hour - she was elected its leader. Persistently engaged in the political image of the party and state affairs, in the elections in May 1979, the Conservatives get a victory, and Thatcher - the post of Prime Minister.

She developed her program to improve the economy, which included:

• cutting government spending
• stop subsidizing unprofitable enterprises,
• transfer to private ownership of state corporations,
• firmness in defending one's views

Such rigidity in the implementation of her decisions secured the title of “Iron Lady” for Margaret Thatcher. Thanks to him, she is known all over the world.

Having decided to put her program into practice, Thatcher first of all in 1982 sent British troops to the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, captured by Argentina. In the elections of June 1983, after a landslide victory for the Conservatives, Thatcher retained her post and continued on her intended course.

Thanks to this woman, inflation has decreased and labor productivity has increased. At the next elections in June 1987, Thatcher for the first time in the history of modern Britain remained prime minister for a third term. On November 22, 1990, Margaret Thatcher was forced to resign, due to some differences in her views from the activities of Parliament.

After leaving the office of prime minister, she served as a member of the House of Commons for Finchley for two years. In 1992, already a 66-year-old woman, she decided to leave parliament, believing that this would give her the opportunity to openly express her opinion on current events.

In February 2007, the Iron Lady became the first prime minister in the UK to have a monument erected while he was alive in the British Parliament. She died April 8, 2013 in London.

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20.01.15 11:11

When she passed away, the opponents celebrated wildly, singing the once popular ditty that "the witch is dead." But still, there were more of those who sincerely mourned for Margaret Thatcher. "Iron Lady" - that's what both admirers and detractors called her, because she became the first woman prime minister on the planet.

Biography of Margaret Thatcher

Budding Chemist

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

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

The biography of Margaret Thatcher became a biography of a political figure in 1950, when she first ran for parliament (from the constituency of Dartford). As a student, she researched the latest antibiotics, among which the now very famous gramicidin. And after moving to Dartford to participate in the elections, Margaret got a job in a local chemical company and worked on the creation of emulsifiers for ice cream. In both 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

Tangible support for her daughter was provided by her mother and father, and then Margaret turned out to be another true 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 1953, the children of Margaret Thatcher, twins Mark and Carol, were born.

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

Margaret Thatcher received the nickname "Iron Lady" after a sensational anti-Soviet speech delivered by her in January 1976. She stressed that the USSR wants world domination and escalates aggression. For the first time, the “Iron Lady” was called by the journalists of the “Red Star”, having heard about this, the lady did not mind - she liked it!

Iron Lady becomes 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, who led such a large party in the UK. In the same 1979, the leader of the opposition took the responsible post of prime minister. The country then was swept by a wave of unemployment. And the first measures taken by the new inhabitant of the residence on Downey Street 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 financial areas - all this was taken up by the newly minted prime minister.

Initially, Thatcher's radical measures were received with great enthusiasm. But unemployment did not decrease, nor did instability on stock market. Unrest in Ireland reached a "boiling point" when hunger strikes began there. IRA leaders staged an assassination attempt on the Iron Lady. Margaret Thatcher, however, was unshakable. And the ensuing war in the Falklands strengthened her shaky reputation. And she was again in the lead 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 announced the end of " cold war". There was a year left before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In 1987, the third term of the "reign" of Margaret Thatcher began. Her biography as a politician at that time began to decline. The strife in the Cabinet of Ministers, the new tax system - all this shook the "throne" of the leader. Margaret Thatcher was forced to leave in the fall 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 companion of the ex-prime minister, husband Denis, died. It was a heavy loss. Thatcher's health began to fail, although she attended the funeral former president States, one of its allies, Reagan in 2004, but did not feel very well.

The 80th anniversary of the Iron Lady was magnificent. Next to the mother were the children of Margaret Thatcher, the dearest guests (along with Queen Elizabeth II and the new Prime Minister Tony Blair). The hero of the day was honored, recalled all her merits and listed the qualities of Margaret Thatcher, which allowed her to “be at the helm” for so many years.

The years have taken their toll

But old age took its toll: several micro-strokes, followed by dementia (all this is truthfully shown in the film The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher in the film was played by the magnificent Meryl Streep, 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 was buried with full honors. She pre-scheduled all the funeral ceremonies, "as if by notes", the Iron Lady, even after death, strove to remain herself.

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, developed his daughter's oratory skills. Margaret grew up beyond her age as a serious child, she had practically no friends, except for her father.

Then she entered a school for girls, where she studied well and took part in sports competitions, becoming the captain of her school's team. At the age of nine, Margaret won a poetry competition, showing character. When she won first place, the headmistress of the school told her: "You are very lucky, Margaret," but the girl in response to her objected: "It's not luck, madam. It's a merit!" Since then, the school began to call Margaret 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 the policy of the Conservatives, she made her choice in favor of the Labor Party. Margaret still had enough time to work in her family's grocery store. Meanwhile, her father hard work and by his determination he succeeded in being elected mayor of Grantham.

Four years before graduation, 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. For four years of hard work and cramming, Margaret achieved this.

Margaret devoted all her free time only to her studies. The only activity that could tear her away from textbooks was her participation in political debates that were popular at that time. Participating in them, Margaret honed her oratory skills, 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. She then moved to London, where she also worked in a chemical laboratory. However, all Margaret's thoughts were occupied by politics. In 1948, she decided to try for a seat in the Dartford branch of the Conservative Party.

Margaret Roberts lost the election, but even 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 her bar exam just four months later.

Margaret Thatcher often talked about the topic of combining family and professional duties. Her opinion was always unambiguous. 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 she 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 vote.

09 April 2013 12:36

Margaret Thatcher was elected British Prime Minister in 1979. She was the first female prime minister in the Western world and the longest-serving British prime minister in the 20th century. In addition, she is rightfully considered the most important political figure in the country since the days of Winston Churchill. Margaret Thatcher, 87, died Monday after suffering a stroke. Below are some important facts and events from the life of the Iron Lady.

In October 1980, Thatcher delivered a famous speech in defense of her free-market economic policy at a Conservative party conference. Former Prime Minister Ted Heath, as well as other politicians, called on Thatcher to abandon economic approach, which increased unemployment and drove the country into recession. However, she refused to change course. “To those who are waiting with bated breath for the so-called “reversal”, I will only say one thing: ladies do not turn around,” Thatcher said then.


In April 1982, Argentine troops occupied the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Thatcher immediately sent troops to take back the islands. The war came to a head when the Argentine warship ARA General Belgrano sank, killing over 300 crew members. The British submarine HMS Conqueror sank Belgrano with two torpedoes on 2 May 1982.


A ceasefire agreement was signed on June 14, 1982, and Argentine forces surrendered from the Falklands on the same day.


Starting in 1984, Thatcher fought desperately with the National Union of Miners, in whose hands a lot of power was concentrated. As a result of protracted and bloody battles, the union lost, which gave the Iron Lady the opportunity to consolidate power and defend her economic policy. The closure of trade unions led to mass unemployment.


Thatcher, whose term coincided with the presidency of Ronald Reagan in the United States, became Reagan's political confidant in Europe. The two of them are often credited with a key role in the end of the Soviet Union.


On October 12, 1984, the Irish Republican Army made an attempt on Thatcher's life by bombing the Grand Hotel in Brighton. As a result, five people died, although Thatcher herself and her husband managed to escape injury. "This is a day I shouldn't have seen," the prime minister said after the bombing.


On Sunday, March 31, 1990, large-scale riots broke out in London to protest Margaret Thatcher's poll tax, the so-called "Community Charge". About 200 thousand people gathered in Trafalgar Square in London to protest against the introduction of the tax. It all ended in bloody clashes between the protesters and the police. In the future, it was the introduction of the tax and the protests that contributed to the fall of Thatcher's power.


Iron Lady in last years of her reign was isolated even among her own party members. Differences of opinion over taxation, economic reforms, and policies regarding the emerging European Union led to Thatcher's resignation in November 1990.