Margaret Thatcher interesting facts. Margaret Thatcher: little-known facts from the life of the “Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher” - short biography
Margaret Thatcher was called by many names: Toothpick, Milk Thief and Iron Lady. And, of course, the last nickname remains the most famous. And today, 92 years ago, Margaret Thatcher was born. She died at the age of 88 after a stroke. Millions of lines have already been written about the Iron Lady, and we decided to collect the most interesting facts about Margaret Thatcher on her birthday.
Interesting facts about Margaret Thatcher
Just like in some films, little Margaret and her sister lived in a small apartment above their father's grocery store. It must be said that in her apartment there was no hot water, or even a toilet.
Despite all this, Margaret studied very well, and not only that. In her free time, she managed to play field hockey, go swimming, practice walking and take poetry courses.
When Margaret Thatcher was 9 years old, she received a rather prestigious award at school. The teacher foolishly said that she was lucky. But the girl was not taken aback and objected, “No, I deserve it.”
And at school they called her Maggie Toothpick.
Margaret Thatcher's first love was taken away by her sister. A young farmer was caring for the girl, but suddenly he began to take a closer look at his sister, who was not at all like Maggie. She was not interested in political battles, but in housekeeping. A good choice for the farmer.
Margaret received her most famous nickname due to her harsh criticism of the USSR. After this, Red Star called Thatcher “the iron lady.” Everyone really liked the translation into English.
Thatcher's daughter became a journalist. She even wrote a book, "Beyond the Parapet." There she talked about calling her house this way: “a frozen closet, completely devoid of love.”
Since 2002, Margaret Thatcher's health began to fail her. She suffered several mini-strokes, suffered a broken arm, and suffered from dementia (senile dementia) for the rest of her life. In 2011, she was even invited to the wedding of William and Catherine Middleton, but poor health prevented her from getting there.
The daughter of a shopkeeper from provincial Grantham in Lincolnshire, she lived in a flat above the grocery store that her father owned. There was no hot water or toilet.
A week-long excursion to London for 12-year-old Margaret stunned the girl with the contrast between the capital and the quiet province. Perhaps this was also one of the factors that pushed young Margaret to plunge into the seething world of politics - which did not prevent her from receiving a chemical education.
As a child, Maggie was not only an excellent student, but also played the piano, played field hockey, swimming, race walking, and took poetry classes.
Margaret's first lover was taken away by her sister. The young Scottish farmer who was caring for the girl suddenly took an eye on her sister Muriel, who was the complete opposite of Margaret. In contrast to her younger sister's serious political conversations, she was more interested in cooking and housekeeping.
Young Thatcher. (pinterest.com)
In February 1951, Margaret Hilda Roberts met successful divorced businessman and World War II veteran Denis Thatcher at dinner. Denis gave her a lift on the train - and this was the beginning of not only a beautiful friendship, but also great love. Margaret Thatcher wrote: “Being Prime Minister is a lonely job. In a sense, that's how it has to be: you can't lead from the crowd. But with Denis I was never lonely. What a man. What a husband. What's a friend!". Sir Denis Thatcher died of cancer in June 2003 at the age of 88.
In 1953, Margaret and Denis gave birth to a pair of twins, Carol and Mark, six weeks premature. Carol Thatcher is best known as a journalist and author of books dedicated to her parents. In her book “Beyond the Parapet,” she talks about family life, calling the parental nest “a freezer cupboard, completely devoid of love.”
Mark Thatcher has a more scandalous biography - in 2004 he was arrested in South Africa on charges of preparing an anti-government plot in Equatorial Guinea. In January 2005, Thatcher Jr. admitted to being involved in a failed coup in an African country. Mark claimed that he was negligent in investing in the purchase of a plane that was intended to be used by mercenaries who were planning a coup in Equatorial Guinea. A court in Cape Town sentenced him to a fine of approximately half a million dollars and a suspended prison term of four years.
Margaret Thatcher's archive contains a typewritten printout of a special diet with a warning that it should not last more than two weeks. 14 days before the 1979 parliamentary elections, Margaret Thatcher, who decided that she needed to look better, lost almost 10 kilos. The “pre-election diet” of the leader of the Conservative Party was based on eggs and grapefruits. Thatcher started each day with a couple of eggs and a grapefruit for breakfast, plus black coffee or tea. For lunch, the diet again prescribed grapefruit (it could be replaced with tomatoes or spinach) and two eggs. During her diet, Thatcher could sometimes afford steak, cottage cheese and vegetables for dinner.
The “Iron Lady” was famous for her taste and ability to carefully select outfits. Last year, several of Margaret Thatcher's outfits fetched more than $115,000 at auction, with the light turquoise business suit that Thatcher wore when elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975 fetching about $40,000. Once Thatcher and Elizabeth II came to a reception in similar dresses, the prime minister invited the queen to coordinate the outfits, but Elizabeth refused. And in 1981, Thatcher personally returned £20 to the treasury for an ironing board she had bought.
In 1992, Margaret Thatcher was made a peer of the House of Lords with the personal nobility and title of Baroness Kesteven (a seat in her home county of Lincolnshire). In 1995, Queen Elizabeth II made the former prime minister a Dame of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Britain's highest order of chivalry, of which no more than 25 people, including the monarch, can be knights at any one time.
That same year, Margaret was hired by the tobacco company Philip Morris as a “geopolitical consultant” with a salary of $250,000 and an annual contribution of $250,000 to its foundation.
The politician was awarded a lifetime monument, becoming the first prime minister to receive such high recognition. In February 2007, Thatcher erected a monument in the British Parliament. Interestingly, the bronze sculpture of Margaret stands opposite the monument to her idol, Winston Churchill.
Thatcher personally drafted the script for her own funeral, omitting the air flight and adding the reading of the psalm by the prime minister.
Margaret Thatcher(nee Roberts) was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Her father Alfred Roberts owned groceries and took an active part in local politics and the life of the religious community - he was a member of the municipal council and a Methodist pastor, for some time he was even the mayor of Grantham. Margaret and her sister Muriel were brought up in strict traditions. Margaret Roberts studied diligently at school and attended many extracurricular activities.
Chemistry and life
Margaret Thatcher was originally trained as a chemist. She studied chemistry for four years at Oxford University and received a Bachelor of Science degree. Then she worked briefly as a research chemist and was involved in the development of emulsifiers for the production of ice cream.
Political career
While still a student, Margaret Roberts became chair of the Oxford University Conservative Party Association. From the early 1950s, she began to fight for a seat in parliament and in 1959 finally achieved her goal, becoming a member of the House of Commons.
She was nominated to the post of parliamentary undersecretary for pensions and state social insurance, then worked on issues of construction and land ownership, in the House of Commons she supported the retention of the death penalty and at the same time voted for the release of homosexuals from criminal liability.
In the late 1960s, she participated in the International Visits Program, through which she was able to meet with US politicians, and subsequently became a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. In 1970, after the Conservatives came to power, Margaret Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science, a post she held until 1974. After the defeat of the Conservatives, Thatcher was the leader of the opposition.
First woman as prime minister
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first and so far only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain. She served three terms in this post - the longest of any prime minister since 1827. She was also the first female prime minister of a European state.
In fact, it was Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1990 who was entrusted with solving the most important issues concerning the political course of Great Britain, since the head of government in Britain, although appointed by the monarch, performs many functions that nominally belong to the monarch.
"The Iron Lady"
Margaret Thatcher received this nickname for her conservative policies and tough, unbending character. A Soviet military journalist called her the first “iron lady” in response to harsh criticism of the USSR. Yuri Gavrilov in his article in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper dated January 24, 1979. At the same time, she had not yet assumed the post of prime minister.
As translated by British journalists, the “iron lady” became “the iron lady,” and this nickname was subsequently firmly attached to Thatcher.
Politics Margaret Thatcher
As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher introduced many major reforms in a variety of areas. She sought to change what she saw as the cause of Britain's decline.
Margaret Thatcher advocated reducing government intervention in the economy (deregulation), reducing the influence of trade unions, and reducing spending on the social sector. She also carried out privatization - the sale of many state-owned enterprises, and increased taxes. This caused the decline of the mining and manufacturing industries, but marked a stage in the transition to the production of services rather than goods.
At the same time, Thatcher's economic policies were responsible for rising unemployment, although the short and victorious Falklands War contributed to her popularity. After her resignation due to a split in the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher remained a member of the House of Commons for two more years.
Margaret Thatcher always sharply criticized the Soviet Union; communism was unacceptable to her. However, she believed that communist and capitalist countries could coexist through mutual compromise. In foreign policy, she was guided by the United States and always spoke harshly of Soviet political leaders. Only Mikhail Gorbachev she called “a person with whom she could deal.”
Thatcherism
The economic and social policies pursued by Margaret Thatcher came to be called Thatcherism. Many cannot be indifferent to this policy, as well as to the figure of Thatcher herself. Thatcher's opponents believe that through her policies she did everything to weaken Great Britain. For supporters of the “Iron Lady,” on the contrary, she is an iconic figure.
Assassination
In 1984, the Irish Republican Army attempted to assassinate Margaret Thatcher. Separatists planted a bomb in a Brighton hotel during the Conservative Party conference. Five people were killed, but Thatcher herself was not injured.
Personal life
Your husband, businessman Denis Thatcher, Margaret Roberts met back in 1949. They met at a dinner to celebrate Margaret's official confirmation as the Conservative Party candidate in Dartford. In 1951 they got married, and in 1953 twins Carol and Mark were born to this marriage.
Denis Thatcher was 10 years older than Margaret, and this was his second marriage. By coincidence, Denis Thatcher's first wife was also named Margaret.
Margaret and Denis Thatcher were married for many years. In her autobiography, Margaret wrote that without the support of her husband, she would never have become prime minister. After her resignation, Denis Thatcher received the title of baronet, and Margaret Thatcher, accordingly, became a baroness.
Denis Thatcher died in 2003; his famous wife survived him by 10 years.
Disease
In recent years, Margaret Thatcher rarely appeared in public due to health problems. She suffered several heart attacks and suffered from dementia (senile dementia). In 2012, she underwent surgery to remove a bladder tumor.
Read more in the story >>
Margaret Thatcher you will learn interesting facts from the life of the “Iron Lady” in this article.
Margaret Thatcher interesting facts
As a child, Maggie was not only an excellent student, but also played the piano, played field hockey, swimming, race walking, and took poetry classes.
For his sharp mind and equally sharp tongue, his classmates called him Maggie with a toothpick.
Margaret Thatcher studied chemistry at Oxford University. After graduation, she worked for a food production company, checking the quality of fillings for pies and ice cream.
While she was Minister of Education and Science, Thatcher closed the program to provide free milk in schools to children aged 7-11. For this unpopular decision, people nicknamed her “ Thatcher the milk stealer».
In 1973, Margaret Thatcher said: "I don't think there will be a woman prime minister of this country in my lifetime."
The Prime Minister called her handbag "the only safe place in the world." Downing Street».
Hairstyle was of great importance to the Iron Lady. There is information that before her trip abroad, Thatcher contacted the British Embassy in the country of her visit with a request to find a good local hairdresser. A special requirement for a hairdresser was the ability to use a certain type of curler.
President of France Francois Mitterrand described the British Prime Minister this way: “ Brigitte Bardot with the eyes of Caligula."
Margaret Thatcher's 11 years as Prime Minister I haven’t used the services of a cook for a day. Every evening she prepared dinner herself for her husband, Denis Thatcher. The Iron Lady often treated members of the Cabinet of Ministers to her cooking.
Margaret Thatcher was undoubtedly one of the most significant politicians of the last century. Many had relatively great achievements, but not everyone managed to leave behind an entire direction in politics - Thatcherism. What is it and who was its founder?
Margaret Thatcher - short biography
The future head of the British government was born in 1925 into the family of a grocer and lived in Grantham. After graduating from school, she entered Oxford University and first tried to get involved in chemical research.
At the age of twenty-five, Thatcher tried to participate in politics for the first time - he ran for parliamentary elections, but suffered a fiasco. Three years later she became a certified lawyer and practiced law until 1957. But even then the characteristic features of the Iron Lady appeared: she did not deviate from the course she had once taken and in 1959 she nevertheless became a parliamentarian. From that moment on, Thatcher's life was inextricably linked with politics.
Her career was steadily ascending: in 1961 she was appointed junior minister of pensions and social security. In 1970, Margaret Thatcher became Minister of Education. When the Conservatives lose the parliamentary elections in 1974, she leaves the government and heads them.
Top career
May 1979. The Tories win, and Thatcher gets the job of prime minister. It begins to implement a neo-conservative economic program, the core of which is the compression of government spending and the privatization of state property. Having suppressed the resistance of the miners, the Thatcher government in the mid-1980s maintained stable low prices for mineral raw materials and electricity. Inflation was stopped at the cost of rising unemployment.
In 1990, the majority of Conservatives disagreed with their leader in their views on the integration of England into the common European economy. Thatcher was a representative of the House of Commons for two years, and then left the political arena completely.
While still in charge of education and science, she showed her political views, trying to reduce government spending on education as much as possible. As Prime Minister, Thatcher acted much more broadly: she reduced spending on education and public utilities, and to help regions with a backward economic structure.
In the short term, the country's economy has invigorated. However, it is now clear that the strategic consequences of Thatcherism are extremely bad. Instead of the production sector of the economy, its financial component received unreasonably large weight.
Children of Margaret Thatcher and their fate
When children appeared in the life of the future tough politician, she instantly got rid of the responsibilities of raising them. As Thatcher's daughter's book Beyond the Parapet attests, the atmosphere in the house was more like an industrial refrigerator running at full capacity than a family retreat. A typical feature of Margaret was her desire for beautiful clothes. Carol carefully and comprehensively distanced herself from her family and made an excellent journalistic career. Mark seemed to be in a better position... however, in 1984, while participating in a car race in Paris, he disappeared without a trace and appeared only three days later. In general, he became a real shelaput.