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Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher is one of the most influential female political figures of all time. She earned the nickname ‘Iron Lady,’ a reflection of her strong leadership and uncompromising stance on many political issues. She was the first woman to become British Prime Minister in addition to holding the position for the longest time in the twentieth century. She began her political career in 1959 as a Member of Parliament and quickly rose through the ranks to become the Opposition leader in 1975. She was also the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party (Aitken 17). In 1979, she was elected Prime Minister and sought to implement policies to improve the country’s social, economic and political welfare.
Thatcher is remembered for her economic policies of flexible labor markets, reducing trade unions’ powers, deregulation of the financial market, and privatization of companies owned by the state. These were aimed at reducing the rate of unemployment in the country and improving the economy. Despite her best efforts, the economy slumped during Thatcher’s first few years in office. However, things improved in 1982 when the UK won the Falklands War, and Thatcher regained favor and won the election again in 1983. Thatcher faced a lot of opposition as PM, even surviving an assassination attempt in 1984. A critical area of contention was Thatcher’s Eurosceptic views (Daddow 218). Many of her cabinet members shared opposing opinions on the European Union, which made Thatcher unpopular with them. The community poll tax was another thorny issue which increased the Prime Minister’s unpopularity. The majority of the population opposed the tax supported by Thatcher. She resigned from her position as PM as well as party leader in the year 1990. Margaret Thatcher passed away at the age of 87 in the year 2013. She is remembered as a powerful woman and an influential political figure all over the world.
Works Cited
Aitken, Jonathan. Margaret Thatcher: power and personality. A&C Black, 2013.
Daddow, Oliver. “Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and the Eurosceptic Tradition in Britain.” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 15.2 (2013): 210-227.
