Thatcher

Thatch|er, Margaret

(1925- ) a British politician in the Conservative Party, now officially called Baroness Thatcher, and sometimes called Maggie in the newspapers. She became leader of her party in 1975, and in 1979 became the UK's first woman Prime Minister, a position she held until 1990. She won three General Elections one after the other, and she had a great influence on British politics and on British life. Her ideas, which have become known as Thatcherism, have also influenced politicians in other countries. She reduced taxes, took away power from ↑trade unions, and started a programme of ↑privatization (=selling state-owned services such as electricity, gas, and the telephone service, so that they became private companies) . She was a strong and determined leader who would not change her mind easily and would not accept disagreement among her ministers. For this reason, she was sometimes called "the Iron Lady".