Former Britain Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has passed away at the age of 87 due to a stroke she suffered on Monday. Nicknamed the “Iron Lady,” Britain’s first female Prime Minister was well-known for her tough negotiation skills while she ran Great Britain from 1979-1990.
“It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning,” Britain’s Lord Bell said today.
Thatcher was the daughter to a grocer and made her name known through her tough politics. She de-unionized much of the country while standing firm against Northern Ireland. Her most controversial time was during the Falklands Wars in 1982 when a British submarine sank Argentina’s only cruiser, killing 358 Argentinians onboard. The 74 day conflict would result in the deaths of 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel and 3 Falkland Islanders .
The Iron Lady’s downfall came in 1990 when she implemented the Community Charge (aka. poll tax). People rioted in the streets as people protested against a tax in which each resident had to pay an equal amount. She would have to resign in 1990 after Michael Heseltine challenged her leadership.
“She will go down in history not only as Britain’s first female prime minister, but as the woman who transformed Britain’s economy in addition to being a formidable rival on the international stage,” the Daily Telegraph wrote about Thatcher. “[She] was the only British prime minister to leave behind a set of ideas about the role of the state which other leaders and nations strove to copy and apply.”
Thatcher would continue to be involved in politics until she suffered a series of small strokes in 2002. In 2003 her husband Sir Dennis Thatcher died.
One of her last major public appearances was during President Ronald Reagan’s 2004 funeral. In a pre-recorded video a frail Thatcher spoke of the former President as “great president, a great American, and a great man. And I have lost a dear friend.”
Prime Minister David Cameron returned from a trip to Spain and France to announce Thatcher’s death and funeral plans.
“We can announce that, with the Queen’s consent, Lady Thatcher will receive a ceremonial funeral with military honors. The service will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral. A wide and diverse range of people and groups with connections to Lady Thatcher will be invited,” a statement from 10 Downing Street, Cameron’s office, said.
“The service will be followed by a private cremation. All the arrangements being put in place are in line with wishes of Lady Thatcher’s family.”
Her life was recently chronicled in the 2011 biographical film The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in the film.
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