Mini biography of margaret thatcher

The outcome was uncertain, but after many turns in the road, the union was defeated. This proved a crucial development, because it ensured that the Thatcher reforms would endure. In the years that followed, the Labour Opposition quietly accepted the popularity and success of the trade union legislation and pledged not to reverse its key components.

In October , when the strike was still underway, the Irish Republican Army IRA attempted to murder Margaret Thatcher and many of her cabinet by bombing her hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party annual conference. Although she survived unhurt, some of her closest colleagues were among the injured and dead and the room next to hers was severely damaged.

No twentieth-century British Prime Minister ever came closer to assassination. British policy in Northern Ireland had been a standing source of conflict for every Prime Minister since , but Margaret Thatcher aroused the IRA's special hatred for her refusal to meet their political demands, notably during the prison hunger strikes. Her policy throughout was implacably hostile to terrorism, republican or loyalist, although she matched that stance by negotiating the Anglo-Irish Agreement of with the Republic of Ireland.

Mini biography of margaret thatcher

The Agreement was an attempt to improve security cooperation between Britain and Ireland and to give some recognition to the political outlook of Catholics in Northern Ireland, an initiative which won warm endorsement from the Reagan administration and the US Congress. The economy continued to improve during the Parliament and the policy of economic liberalisation was extended.

The government began to pursue a policy of selling state assets, which in total had amounted to more than 20 per cent of the economy when the Conservatives came to power in The British privatisations of the s were the first of their kind and proved influential across the world. Where possible, sale of state assets took place through offering shares to the public, with generous terms for small investors.

The Thatcher Governments presided over a great increase in the number of people saving through the stock market. They also encouraged people to buy their own homes and to make private pension provision, policies which over time have greatly increased the personal wealth of the British population. The left wing of the Conservative Party had always been uneasy with its chief.

In January , enduring divisions between left and right in the Thatcher Cabinet were publicly exposed by the sudden resignation of the Defence Minister, Michael Heseltine, in a dispute over the business troubles of the British helicopter manufacturer, Westland. The fallout from the 'Westland Affair' challenged Margaret Thatcher's leadership as never before.

She survived the crisis, but its effects were significant. She was subjected to heavy criticism within her own party for the decision to allow US warplanes to fly from British bases to attack targets in Libya April There was talk of the government and of its leader being 'tired', of having gone on too long. Her response was characteristic: at the Conservative Party's annual conference in October , her speech foreshadowed a mass of reforms for a third Thatcher Government.

With the economy now very strong, prospects were good for an election and the government was returned with a Parliamentary majority of in June The legislative platform of the third-term Thatcher Government was among the most ambitious ever put forward by a British administration. There were measures to reform the education system , introducing a national curriculum for the first time.

There was a new tax system for local government , the Community Charge, or 'poll tax' as it was dubbed by opponents. And there was legislation to separate purchasers and providers within the National Health Service , opening up the service to a measure of competition for the first time and increasing the scope for effective management.

All three measures were deeply controversial. The Community Charge, in particular, became a serious political problem, as local councils took advantage of the introduction of a new system to increase tax rates, blaming the increase on the Thatcher Government. The system was abandoned by Margaret Thatcher's successor, John Major, in By contrast, the education and health reforms proved enduring.

Successive governments built on the achievement and in some respects extended their scope. The economy boomed in , but also began to overheat. Interest rates had to be doubled during A division within the government over management of the currency emerged into the open, Margaret Thatcher strongly opposing the policy urged by her Chancellor of the Exchequer and others, of pegging the pound sterling to the Deutschmark through the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ERM.

Opinion was strongly against many of her policies. In a famous letter to The Times newspaper, economists wrote a letter arguing the government should change its policies immediately. However, in true Thatcher style, she refused. See: UK economy under Mrs Thatcher, In the midst of the recession, the Falklands Islands were invaded by the Argentinean army.

Mrs Thatcher sent a British expeditionary force to reclaim the islands. With relatively light casualties although many hundreds died in the conflict the islands were retaken. This military victory brought a fillip in support for Thatcher. However, it is worth noting she was criticised for both her decision to sink the Belgrano which was sailing away from the conflict zone Others also criticised her triumphalist spirit.

On reclaiming the islands, Mrs Thatcher proclaimed:. Many felt this was inappropriate given the recent casualties on both the British and Argentinian sides. Another defining feature of the early Thatcher administration was her battle with trades unions. Thatcher wanted to reduce the power of trades unions; in particular, she wished to reduce the influence of the militant mineworkers union, the NUM, led by Arthur Scargill.

Mrs Thatcher prepared the country for a long strike; when the miners went all out on strike in , they were eventually forced back into work after a year-long bitter struggle. Margaret Thatcher was born in the small Lincolnshire market town of Grantham in October , the second daughter of Alfred and Beatrice Roberts. Her parents owned and ran a grocery.

He had been brought up a Liberal and though an opponent of the local Labour Party, he never publicly described himself as a Conservative. From a local state school Thatcher won a place to read chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied between and Her college tutor was Dorothy Hodgkin, a brilliant crystallographer who later won a Nobel Prize.

Her first political speech was made during the General Election campaign. Graduating in , Thatcher began a brief career as a research chemist, moving to Colchester and then to Dartford, where she was selected as the Conservative candidate at the General Election of The seat was unwinnable for a Conservative at that time, but she hugely enjoyed the experience, showing characteristic energy and determination.

As the youngest female candidate at the election and one of the most attractive she and her campaign achieved national attention in the press. The Dartford candidacy also brought her into the company of Denis Thatcher, a local businessman. They married in December to become one of the best-matched and happiest of political couples, a source of great strength in her subsequent career.

Politics was from the very beginning a demanding presence in their relationship; it was perhaps a warning of the life to come when without asking them the local party agent leaked the news of their engagement, timing it for maximum political advantage. In her early years as a married woman Thatcher trained as a barrister, specialising in tax law.

In she became the mother of twins, Mark and Carol. But politics held an overwhelming attraction for her and she had impressed influential figures in the party machine. She secured the candidature of a safe seat in North London — Finchley — in time to enter Parliament at the General Election, which was won by the Conservatives under the leadership of Harold Macmillan with a majority of Once elected to the House of Commons, Thatcher rapidly made her way.

In she was invited to join the government as a junior minister at the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance. Later, in November , Thatcher spent two weeks in the hospital for a condition that was later revealed to cause painful muscle inflammation. In , she sat out such a number of major events, including the wedding of Prince William in April, and the unveiling of the Ronald Reagan sculpture in London in July.

Additionally, in July , Thatcher's office in the House of Lords was permanently closed. The closure has been seen by some to mark the end of her public life. Battling memory problems in her later years due to her strokes, Thatcher retreated from the spotlight, living in near seclusion at her home in London's Belgravia neighborhood. Thatcher died on April 8, , at the age of She was survived by her two children, daughter Carol and son Sir Mark.

Thatcher's policies and actions continue to be debated by detractors and supporters alike, illustrating the indelible impression that she has left on Britain and nations worldwide. Gillian Anderson portrayed the former prime minister in season 4 of The Crown. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Prince Harry. Charli XCX. Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales. Elton John. Ralph Fiennes. Daniel Day-Lewis. Maggie Smith. Alan Cumming. Olivia Colman. Early Foray into Politics Two years after graduating from college, Thatcher made her first bid for public office. Britain's First Female Premier When Conservatives returned to office in June , Thatcher was appointed secretary of state for education and science, and dubbed "Thatcher, milk snatcher," after her abolition of the universal free school milk scheme.

Conservative Leadership As prime minister, Thatcher battled the country's recession by initially raising interest rates to control inflation. Resignation Returning for a third term in , Thatcher sought to implement a standard educational curriculum across the nation and make changes to the country's socialized medical system. Final Years and Death Thatcher's health made headlines in , when she missed a celebration at 10 Downing Street, held in honor of her 85th birthday by David Cameron.

Legacy, Movie and 'The Crown' Thatcher's policies and actions continue to be debated by detractors and supporters alike, illustrating the indelible impression that she has left on Britain and nations worldwide. In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman. I don't think there will be a woman prime minister in my lifetime.