Margaret Thatcher

January 3, 2006

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you had everything to do, and you've done it." ~ Margaret Thatcher

Who is Margaret Thatcher? Margaret Thatcher (born 1925) was the daughter of a grocer who served as an Alderman and also a lay preacher. She was brought up a devout Methodist and became one of England's greatest leaders.

Having been elected a Member of Parliament in 1950, she gradually rose through the ranks until she became the first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979. Like her political and philosophical soulmate Ronald Reagan, who was elected President of the United States in 1980, she emphasized free markets and entrepreneurialism.

Also like Reagan, she survived an assassination attempt, and went on to play a key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. She was so outspoken a critic of communism that she was nicknamed "The Iron Lady" by the Soviet Defense Ministry newspaper Red Star. She took the nickname with pride.

She was the longest serving Prime Minister in more than 150 years, leaving a lasting, transformational legacy. After her resignation as Prime Minister, she maintained a vigorous traveling and speaking schedule, and served for several years as the Chancellor of the College of William and Mary in the United States. Today she lives in a very frail condition, having suffered several small strokes.