Margaret Thatcher

She married Sir Dennis Thatcher in December 1951 and the couple had twins; Carol Thatcher and Mark Thatcher.

Sir Dennis Thatcher passed away due to pancreatic cancer on June 26, 2003, after which Margaret became a recluse, avoiding public appearances.

She suffered a number of strokes during her third term as Prime Minister; one of the reasons the Cabinet persuaded her to resign.

Margaret Thatcher, nee Margaret Hilda Roberts, was born on 13 October 1925, in Grantham to Alfred Roberts, a grocer, preacher and local mayor, and Beatrice Ethel. She, along with her sister, Muriel, spent most of her childhood in Grantham and helped her father with the grocery business.

Her father was active in local politics at the Methodist church and brought up both his daughters as strict Methodists. He became the Mayor of Grantham in 1945 but lost his position as alderman in 1952, when the Labor Party came into power.

She won a scholarship to Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, where she was head girl for the academic year 1942-1943. Her school reports showed academic consistency and brilliance in a number of extra-curricular activities.

In 1946, she attended Oxford College and became the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1946, where she came to be inspired by the political works of Freidrich von Hayek; an influence that evident in all her reforms and policies.

She graduated with second-class honors and earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1947 and moved to Essex to work as a chemist for BX Plastics.

Thatcher first stood for Parliament in 1950 and became the Conservative contender for the Dartford Labor Party seat. She became an instant media magnet because she was the youngest representative and the only female candidate at the time.

She knew from the start that it would be nearly impossible to defeat the Liberal Labor Party, but she still gathered a fan-following with her speeches. Though defeated, she remained undaunted and tried as a Conservative candidate once more, only to be defeated once again. She soon married Dennis Thatcher, who helped her rise to prominence.

In 1952, funded by her husband, she studied law and qualified as a barrister in 1953. Due to the birth of her twins, she could not contest for the 1955 General Election, but soon returned into the political arena.

She won her first election campaign in 1959, winning the seat of Finchley in London, a position she held till she retired in 1992.

She rapidly rose within the ranks of the Conservative Party, holding a variety of positions and finally, entered the Shadow Cabinet in 1967.

The Conservative Party lost power in 1974 and she soon became a dominant force in her political arena.

She got elected as leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, beating Edward Heath and became the first woman to serve as the opposition leader in the House of Commons, winning 130 votes against 119.

She was finally appointed as the Prime Minister on May 4, 1979 defeating the opposition party which was unpopular and divided.

Britain’s economy in 1979 was in dire financial crisis and Thatcher’s first term in office saw her adopting a new economic theory known as ‘Monetarism’.

During this time, she also changed government regulations on business and subsidies, resulting in business failures, higher unemployment and mounting inflation. She countered this problem with a change in taxation policies and money circulation, which reduced inflation levels while hushing public and economic opposition.