Margaret ThatcherBritish Prime Minister

Louisa CannellApril 5, 2007Okoth History Block

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Background• Born Margaret Hilda Roberts in

1925• Father, Alfred Roberts, was one

time mayor of Grantham, Lincolnshire. The n worked as grocery store owner.

• Attended Somerville College, Oxford

• President of Oxford University Conservative Association

• BS degree in chemistry and MA in law with specialization in taxation

• Worked as research chemist 1947-1951

• Married Denis Thatcher and had twin son and daughter in 1953

• Called to the bar in 1953Denis Thatcher and Margaret Roberts marry

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Becoming Britain’s Leading Lady

• Elected to parliament in 1959

• Leader of Opposition in 1970

• Succeeded Edward Heath as leader of the Tories in 1974

• Conservatives won the election and Thatcher became first female Prime Minister in May 1979

• Won second election for Prime Minister in 1983 http://www.margaretthatcher.org/about/default.asp

Year In Margaret’s Life… In the World…

1925 born Hitler published Mein Kampf, flapper dresses popular

1947-1953 Worked as a research chemist, marries Denis Thatcher, called to the bar

“Big Bang” theory, Gandhi assassinated, apartheid begun, China becomes communist, Korean War, WWII ends, DNA discovered

1959 Elected to

Parliament

Castro becomes dictator of Cuba, Sound of Music on Broadway

1970-1974 Education Minister fro Edward Heath Beatles break up, decimal system in England for currency, terrorist attack at the Olympic games in Munich, President Nixon resigns

1979 Became Prime Minister Walkman created by Sony, Mother Theresa awarded Nobel Peace Prize

1979-1983 First Term First woman appointed to U.S. senate, AIDS discovered, U.S. embassy in Beirut bombed

1983-1987 Second Term Hole in ozone discovered, Titanic ruins found,

1987-1990 Third term Berlin Wall falls

1990 Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister

Nelson Mandela freed from jail

1991 Founded Margaret Thatcher Foundation Collapse of Soviet Union, South Africa repeals apartheid, U.S. Operation Desert Storm

World History During Her Time

Being Prime Minister• Inherited the inflation and industrial

problems made in the Heath government

• Privatized the national industries– Examples: British Airways, British Steel

• Powerful alliances– Ronald Reagan– Business with Soviet Mikhail

Gorbachev• Put into play union laws that ended

trade-union problems– Miner’s Union Strike

• Military victory over Argentina• Rise in unemployment to around 3

million• Increased taxes• Reformation of Education system• Changes made to national Health

Service• Introduced “poll tax” for the tax system

of the local government

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The Margaret Thatcher Foundation

• Founded in 1991 • “to advance the cause of political and

economic freedom”• Raises funds with the emphasis on helping

education• “The Foundation has five broad goals:

1. To promote the widest possible acceptance of democracy, market principles, the rule of law, and strong defence

2. To encourage strong transatlantic links between Britain, Europe, and North America

3. To assist and encourage the peoples of the former communist countries and other oppressive regimes across the world as they adopt democracy

4. To foster greater contact between Western nations and those of the Middle East in the region's search for a lasting peace with security

5. To further free trade throughout the world”

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Quoted from: "Biography." Margaret Thatcher Foundation. 2007. Margaret Thatcher Foundation. 5 Apr 2007 <http://www.margaretthatcher.org/essential/biography.asp>.

Bibliography• "Biography." Margaret Thatcher Foundation. 2007. Margaret Thatcher Foundation. 5

Apr 2007 <http://www.margaretthatcher.org/essential/biography.asp>.• Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Timeline of the Twentieth Century." 20th Century

History. 2007. About, Inc.. 5 Apr 2007 <http://history1900s.about.com/library/time/bltime1920.htm>.

• Johnson, Paul. "Margaret Thatcher." Leaders and Revolutionaries 13 April (1998) 4 April 2007 <http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html>.

• Jackson, Guida M.. Women Who Ruled. Santa Barbara,California: ABC-Clio Inc, 1990.

• Mortimer, John. “The Grocer’s Daughter.” The New York Times Book Review 9 July 1995:

• Dellheim, Charles. “The Disenchanted Isle; Thatcher’s Capitalist Revolution.”

• Young, Hugo. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica’s Guide to Women’s History. 15 Mar 2007 www.britannice.com/women/print?article=71950&fullarticle=true&tocID=9071950.