MARGARET THATCHER

It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake.

Elected as the first woman prime minister in all of Europe, Margaret Thatcher held office for a record 11 years, from 1979 to 1990. In the Conservative Party she served, she dedicated her tenure to boosting Britain’s economy. Her controversial methods along with her strong personality would help Britain lay a foundation to become one of the strongest economies in the world.

Born to parents who worked as grocery shopkeepers, they taught her the value of saving money using conservative means. When they took a vacation, they would do so separately, so that their store was always in business. Following in her father’s footsteps, Margaret felt an early desire to lead people to better not only themselves, but also their situation. In 1943, she attended Oxford University to study chemistry. After graduating, she worked as a research chemist while attempting to become a Conservative Party candidate in Dartford.

In her early 30s, Thatcher was the youngest woman elected to the House of Commons. She was a staunch advocate of moral standards, equal opportunity, and free choice in education. She also voiced her beliefs in England’s military might and the privatization of many facets of government, including health care, education, and low-income housing units.

Margaret Thatcher served as the Secretary for Education and Science in the early 1970s. She gained the spotlight when she dismantled a controversial national program that distributed milk to under-privileged school children. While her policies were well grounded, she was still able to climb political ranks and join several cabinets, including the Health Cabinet. In Education, she made academic schools, geared for the elite, available to middle-class and lower-class children. In 1975, Thatcher had her eye set on becoming Prime Minister. No one in the Conservative Party was able to match her extensive portfolio of political experience.

In her role as the prime minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher’s first term was marred with never before seen unemployment, a rise in poverty, and great social tension. However, through all of this, she claimed that she was laying the groundwork for her next term in office, which she won by a landslide. In her second and third terms, she planned on shaving the powers of unions and their ability to strike. Even through threats, bombings, and public pressure, she wouldn’t give into Unionists’ demands. In her third tenure as prime minister, Margaret Thatcher resigned due to her growing resistance to join the European Union and a poll tax that she initiated.