Canarian Weekly
12-04-2013, 11:00
MARGARET THATCHER, Britain’s first Prime Minister, died peacefully at London’s Ritz Hotel on Monday morning.
The frail 87-year-old, known as the “Iron Lady” in her prime, was said to have been sitting up in bed reading a book when she suffered a fatal stroke.
Baroness Thatcher, as she was to become, was Conservative Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, when she lost the leadership of her party, having won three General Elections, and been in office for 11 years.
She was highly respected throughout the world, and was accredited by statesmen, her followers and foreign governments with “saving theUK”.
Her death was met with mixed reactions, mainly because she took on the unions, who had caused her predecessor Edward Heath’s downfall, and beat them.
Nick Robinson the BBC’s respected political editor, summed her up perfectly, tweeting: “The dominant figure of post-war British politics is dead. Love her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher shaped this country as few others did.”
He later wrote in an obituary: “She was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th Century.”
David Cameron called her a “great Briton”, and the Queen, who will attend her funeral with Price Philip, spoke of her sadness at the death.
The Prime Minister cut short his trip toEuropefollowing her death and reopened Parliament on Wednesday for MPs to pay their respects – or otherwise – to her.
Baroness Thatcher will not have a state funeral, but will be given the same status as Princess Diana and the Queen Mother: a ceremony, with full military honours, which will take place atSt Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday.
Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on 13th October 1925 in Grantham,Lincolnshire, the daughter of grocer Alfred Roberts and his wife, Beatrice.
Her father, a Methodist lay preacher and local councillor, had an immense influence on her life and the policies she would adopt.
Margaret Roberts went to a grammar school and then on toOxfordUniversity, where she graduated with a degree in chemistry.
She married businessman Dennis Thatcher in December 1951 and they had two children, twins Carol and Mark, 20 months later.
By that time, she had changed careers and become a tax barrister. But even then she was already looking towards Parliament and, six years later, she became MP for Finchley, inNorth London.
She was on the way to the top and when she got there, those who opposed her soon found out just how tough she was, especiallyArgentina.
When the Argies invaded theFalkland Islandsin an attempt to claim them as their own, she reacted promptly by waging war on them and secured a famous victory.
And the various unions who crossed her path lived to regret it because she despised all the strikes which took place, seemingly at the drop of a hat, and, in her opinion, so unnecessary.
TheNorthern Irelandconflict also loomed large during the Thatcher era, and she regarded the region as every bit British as her Finchley constituency.
She stood down as an MP in 1992 and accepted a peerage, but this formidable woman had always been regarded with a mixture of fear and awe because of her domineering manner.
In 1980, soon after becoming Prime Minister, she described herself in a nutshell saying: “I love argument. I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me – that’s not their job.”
The then Mrs Thatcher became patron of dementia research charity Alzheimer’s Research UK in 2001 and several years later her daughter, Carol, revealed that her mother had been diagnosed with dementia in 2008.
Rebecca Wood, the charity’s Chief Executive, said: “Thanks to Lady Thatcher, we have made inroads with our research to defeat dementia.
“The answers will come too late for her, but they will come, and this will be another important part of our collective memory of her life and work.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013/)
The frail 87-year-old, known as the “Iron Lady” in her prime, was said to have been sitting up in bed reading a book when she suffered a fatal stroke.
Baroness Thatcher, as she was to become, was Conservative Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, when she lost the leadership of her party, having won three General Elections, and been in office for 11 years.
She was highly respected throughout the world, and was accredited by statesmen, her followers and foreign governments with “saving theUK”.
Her death was met with mixed reactions, mainly because she took on the unions, who had caused her predecessor Edward Heath’s downfall, and beat them.
Nick Robinson the BBC’s respected political editor, summed her up perfectly, tweeting: “The dominant figure of post-war British politics is dead. Love her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher shaped this country as few others did.”
He later wrote in an obituary: “She was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th Century.”
David Cameron called her a “great Briton”, and the Queen, who will attend her funeral with Price Philip, spoke of her sadness at the death.
The Prime Minister cut short his trip toEuropefollowing her death and reopened Parliament on Wednesday for MPs to pay their respects – or otherwise – to her.
Baroness Thatcher will not have a state funeral, but will be given the same status as Princess Diana and the Queen Mother: a ceremony, with full military honours, which will take place atSt Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday.
Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on 13th October 1925 in Grantham,Lincolnshire, the daughter of grocer Alfred Roberts and his wife, Beatrice.
Her father, a Methodist lay preacher and local councillor, had an immense influence on her life and the policies she would adopt.
Margaret Roberts went to a grammar school and then on toOxfordUniversity, where she graduated with a degree in chemistry.
She married businessman Dennis Thatcher in December 1951 and they had two children, twins Carol and Mark, 20 months later.
By that time, she had changed careers and become a tax barrister. But even then she was already looking towards Parliament and, six years later, she became MP for Finchley, inNorth London.
She was on the way to the top and when she got there, those who opposed her soon found out just how tough she was, especiallyArgentina.
When the Argies invaded theFalkland Islandsin an attempt to claim them as their own, she reacted promptly by waging war on them and secured a famous victory.
And the various unions who crossed her path lived to regret it because she despised all the strikes which took place, seemingly at the drop of a hat, and, in her opinion, so unnecessary.
TheNorthern Irelandconflict also loomed large during the Thatcher era, and she regarded the region as every bit British as her Finchley constituency.
She stood down as an MP in 1992 and accepted a peerage, but this formidable woman had always been regarded with a mixture of fear and awe because of her domineering manner.
In 1980, soon after becoming Prime Minister, she described herself in a nutshell saying: “I love argument. I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me – that’s not their job.”
The then Mrs Thatcher became patron of dementia research charity Alzheimer’s Research UK in 2001 and several years later her daughter, Carol, revealed that her mother had been diagnosed with dementia in 2008.
Rebecca Wood, the charity’s Chief Executive, said: “Thanks to Lady Thatcher, we have made inroads with our research to defeat dementia.
“The answers will come too late for her, but they will come, and this will be another important part of our collective memory of her life and work.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013/)