Mrs Thatcher

The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher LG OM PC FRS FRIC
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 4 May 1979 – 28 November 1990
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Sir Geoffrey Howe (1989–90)
Preceded by	James Callaghan
Succeeded by	John Major
Leader of the Opposition
In office 11 February 1975 – 4 May 1979
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson James Callaghan
Preceded by	Edward Heath
Succeeded by	James Callaghan
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 11 February 1975 – 28 November 1990
Deputy	The Viscount Whitelaw
Preceded by	Edward Heath
Succeeded by	John Major
Secretary of State for Education and Science
In office 20 June 1970 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Edward Short
Succeeded by	Reg Prentice
Other frontbench roles Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment In office 5 March 1974 – 11 February 1975 Leader Edward Heath Shadowing Anthony Crosland Preceded by Anthony Crosland Succeeded by Timothy Raison Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science In office 10 January 1967 – 20 June 1970 Leader Edward Heath Shadowing Anthony Crosland Patrick Gordon Walker Edward Short Preceded by Richard Crossman Succeeded by Edward Short Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions In office 9 October 1961 – 16 October 1964 Serving with Richard Sharples and Lynch Maydon Prime Minister Harold Macmillan Sir Alec Douglas-Home Preceded by Patricia Hornsby-Smith Succeeded by Norman Pentland
Member of Parliament for Finchley
In office 8 October 1959 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Sir John Crowder
Succeeded by	Hartley Booth
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 30 June 1992 – 8 April 2013 Life Peerage
Personal details
Born	Margaret Hilda Roberts (1925-10-13)13 October 1925 Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
Died	8 April 2013(2013-04-08) (aged 87) Westminster, London, England
Cause of death	Stroke
Resting place	Royal Hospital Chelsea 51°29′15″N 0°09′30″W / 51.4874°N 0.1582°W / 51.4874; -0.1582
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Denis Thatcher (m. 1951; d. 2003)
Children	Mark Carol
Parents	Alfred Roberts Beatrice Stephenson
Alma mater	Somerville College, Oxford Inns of Court School of Law
Profession	Barrister chemist politician
Signature

External audio

Speech to the National Press Club (US)

Thatcher's speech on 19 September 1975 (starts at 7:39, finishes at 28:33)

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS, FRIC (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century, and the first woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist dubbed her The Iron Lady, a nickname that became popularly associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.

A research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his Conservative government. In 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition and became the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election.