Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died of an apparent stroke at the age of 87.
Serving as Great Britain’s first female prime minister as well as the longest serving prime minister of the 20th century, Baroness Thatcher entered the political scene at the age of 34. Elected as a Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959, Thatcher identified with Great Britain’s conservatives, promoting family values, deregulation and privatization of state-owned companies.
She would serve as the Secretary of State for Education and Science as well as the Leader of the Opposition before she was elected as prime minister in 1979, a post she would retain until 1990. Throughout her political career she became known as an unrelenting, hardworking and often unsympathetic politician. During Britain’s recession in the early 1980s, Thatcher hiked indirect taxes and earned the lowest approval rating recorded for any prime minister. Her cuts to higher education made her the first Oxford educated post-war prime minister to not receive an honorary doctorate from her alma mater.
However, Thatcher gained popularity stateside with Ronald Reagan’s cabinet. Coming into office during the last decade of the Cold War, she found a kindred spirit in Reagan who shared her distrust of Communism, though the two did not always agree on personal policies.
The Falkland Islands War marked a turn around for Thatcher’s reputation in Great Britain after she successfully combated the invasion of Argentinians into the British-owned Falkland Islands. Her quick thinking and skillful organizing led to fast action from her war cabinet, keeping the crisis and violence to a minimum and earning her re-election in 1983.
As the economy gained strength and unemployment rates dropped across Great Britain, the Iron Lady improved her approval rating but would never gain the popularity of former prime ministers. The conservative party was often considered more popular than their elected leader, to which Thatcher replied that she did not care about her ratings, she cared about her election record. But in 1990, despite 11 years of premiership and a considerable amount of national reform, Thatcher was challenged and defeated by her own party.
Though her relationship with Great Britain could be considered torrid, Thatcher has gained what could be considered a mythic reputation among her constituents and the Members of Parliament.
She is the representative of a time when sticking to your guns didn’t mean inflexibility and stubbornness, rather it garnered respect; one dedicated themselves to a cause, and victory was a necessity, not an option.
Mother, wife, minister, Iron Lady – Margaret Thatcher’s legacy is defined by her dedication and service to her country, her can-do attitude in all circumstances.
Thatcher will be remembered for her tenacity and her mission for change, a mission she began on Downing Street with the prayer of St. Francis. “Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope.”
