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Margaret Thatcher "In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man.

If you want anything done, ask a woman." Margaret Thatcher Synopsis Born on October 13, 1925, in Grantham, England, Margaret Thatcher became Britain's Conservative Party leader and in 1979 was elected prime minister, the first woman to hold the position. During her three terms, she cutsocial welfare programs, reduced trade union power and privatized certaini n d u s t r i e s . T h a t c h e r r e s i g n e d i n 1 9 9 1 d u e t o u n p o p u l a r p o l i c y a n d p o w e r struggles in her party. She died on April 8, 2013, at age 87. Early Life Politician and former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher was born as Margaret Hilda Roberts on October 13, 1925, in Grantham, England.Nick named the "Iron Lady", Thatcher served as the prime minister of Englandfrom 1979 to 1990. The daughter of a local businessman, she was educatedat a local grammar school, Grantham Girls' High School. Her family operateda grocery store and they all lived in an apartment above the store. In her earlyyears, Thatcher was introduced to conservative politics by her father, who was a member of the town's council. A good student, Thatcher was accepted to Oxford University, whereshe studied chemistry at Somerville College. One of her instructors was the D o r o t h y H o d g k i n , a N o b e l P r i z e - w i n n i n g s c i e n t i s t . P o l i t i c a l l y a c t i v e i n h e r youth, Thatcher served as president of the Conservative Association at the university. She earned a degree in chemistry in 1947, and went on to work asa research chemist in Colchester. Later, she worked as a research chemist inDartford. Early Foray into Politics Two years after graduating from college, Thatcher made her first bid for p u b l i c o f f i c e . She ran as the conservative candidate for a D a r t f o r d parliamentary seat in the 1950 elections. Thatcher knew from the start that itwould be nearly impossible to win the position away from the liberal Labour P a r t y . Still she earned the respect of her political party peers with h e r speeches. Defeated, Thatcher remained undaunted, trying again the following 1 year, but once more her efforts were unsuccessful. Two months after her loss,she married Denis Thatcher.In 1952, Thatcher put politics aside for a time to study law. She and her husband welcomed twins Carol and Mark the next year. After completing her training, Thatcher qualified as a barrister, a type of lawyer, in 1953. But shedidn't stay away from the political arena for too long. Thatcher won a seat inthe House of Commons in 1959, representing Finchley.Clearly a woman on the rise, Thatcher was appointed parliamentaryu n d e r s e c r e t a r y f o r p e n s i o n s a n d n a t i o n a l i n s u r a n c e i n 1 9 6 1 . W h e n t h e Labour Party assumed control of the government, she became a member of what is called the Shadow Cabinet, a group of political leaders who would hold Cabinet-level posts if their party was in power. Britain's First Female Premier When Conservatives returned to office in June 1970, Thatcher was a p p o i n t e d secretary of state for education and science, and

d u b b e d "Thatcher, milk snatcher," after her abolition of the universal free school milkscheme. She found her position frustrating, not because of all the bad pressa r o u n d h e r a c t i o n s , b u t b e c a u s e s h e h a d d i f f i c u l t y g e t t i n g P r i m e M i n i s t e r Edward Heath to listen to her ideas.Seemingly disenchanted on the future of women in politics, Thatcher was quoted as saying, "I don't think there will be a woman prime minister inmy lifetime," during a 1973 television appearance.Thatcher soon proved herself wrong. While the Conservative Party lostpower in 1974, Thatcher became a dominant force in her political party. Shewas elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, beating out Heath for the position. With this victory, Thatcher became the first woman to serve asthe opposition leader in the House of Commons. England was in a time of e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l , w i t h t h e g o v e r n m e n t n e a r l y b a n k r u p t , employment on the rise and conflicts with labor unions. This instability helpedr e t u r n C o n s e r v a t i v e s t o p o w e r i n 1 9 7 9 . A s p a r t y l e a d e r , Thatcher madehistory in May 1979, when she was appointed Britain's first f e m a l e p r i m e minister. Conservative Leadership As prime minister, Thatcher battled the country's recession by initiallyr a i s i n g i n t e r e s t r a t e s t o c o n t r o l i n f l a t i o n . S h e w a s b e s t k n o w n f o r h e r destruction o f B r i t a i n ' s t r a d i t i o n a l i n d u s t r i e s t h r o u g h h e r a t t a c k s o n l a b o r organizations such as the miner's union, and for the massive privatization of social housing and public transport. One of her staunchest allies was U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan, a fellow conservative. The two shared similar right-wing, pro-corporate political philosophies.Thatcher faced a military challenge during her first term. In April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. This British territory had long been asource of conflict between the two nations, as the islands are located off thecoast of Argentina. Taking swift action, Thatcher sent British troops to theterritory to retake the islands in what became known as the Falklands War. Argentina surrendered in June 1982.In her second term, from 1983 to 1987, Thatcher handled a number of c o n f l i c t s a n d c r i s e s , t h e m o s t j a r r i n g o f w h i c h m a y h a v e b e e n t h e assassination attempt against her in 1 9 8 4 . I n a p l o t b y t h e I r i s h R e p u b l i c Army, she was meant to be killed by a bomb planted at the ConservativeC o n f e r e n c e i n B r i g h t o n i n O c t o b e r . U n d a u n t e d a n d u n h a r m e d , T h a t c h e r insisted that the conference continue, and gave a speech the following day. As for foreign policy, Thatcher met with Mikhail Gorbachev, the Sovietleader, in 1984. That same year, she signed an agreement with the Chinesegovernment regarding the future of Hong Kong. Publicly, Thatcher voiced her s u p p o r t f o r R o n a l d R e a g a n ' s a i r r a i d s o n L i b y a i n 1 9 8 6 a n d a l l o w e d U . S . forces to use British bases to help carry out the attack. Resignation R e t u r n i n g f o r a t h i r d t e r m i n 1 9 8 7 , T h a t c h e r s o u g h t t o i m p l e m e n t a standard educational curriculum across the nation and make changes to thecountry's socialized medical system. However, she lost a lot of support due toher efforts to implement a fixed rate local tax labeled a poll tax by manys i n c e s h e s o u g h t t o d i s e n f r a n c h i s e t h o s e w h o d i d n o t p a y i t . H u g e l y unpopular, this policy led to public protests and caused dissention within her party.Thatcher initially pressed on for party leadership in 1990,

but eventuallyyielded to pressure from party members and announced her intentions toresign on November 22, 1990. In a statement, she said, "Having consulted widely among colleagues, I have concluded that the unity of the Party and theprospects of victory in a General Election would be better served if I stooddown to enable Cabinet colleagues to enter the ballot for the leadership. Ishould like to thank all those in Cabinet and outside who have given me suchd e d i c a t e d s u p p o r t . " O n N o v e m b e r 2 8 , 1 9 9 0 , T h a t c h e r d e p a r t e d f r o m 1 0 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence, for the last time. Life After Politics 3 Not long after leaving office, Thatcher was appointed to the House of L o r d s , a s B a r o n e s s T h a t c h e r o f K e s t e v e n , i n 1 9 9 2 . S h e w r o t e a b o u t h e r experiences as a world leader and a pioneering woman in the field of politicsi n t w o b o o k s : The Downing Street Years (1993) and T h e P a t h t o Power (1995). In 2002, she published the book Statecraft , i n w h i c h s h e offered her views on international politics. Around this time, Thatcher suffered a series of small strokes. She thensuffered a great personal loss in 2003, when her husband of more than 50 years, Denis, died. The following year, Thatcher had to say goodbye to an oldfriend and ally,Ronald Reagan.In fragile health, Thatcher gave a eulogy athis funeral via video link, praising Reagan as a man who "sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to freethe slaves of communism."In 2005, Thatcher celebrated her 80th birthday. A huge event was heldin her honor and was attended byQueen Elizabeth II,Tony Blair and nearly 600 other friends, family members and former colleagues. Two years later, as c u l p t u r e o f t h e s t r o n g c o n s e r v a t i v e l e a d e r w a s u n v e i l e d i n t h e H o u s e o f Commons. Final Years and Legacy Margaret Thatcher's health made headlines in 2010, when she misseda c e l e b r a t i o n a t 1 0 D o w n i n g S t r e e t , h e l d i n h o n o r o f h e r 8 5 t h b i r t h d a y byDavid Cameron. Later, in November 2010, Thatcher spent two weeks inthe hospital for a condition that was later revealed to cause painful muscleinflammation. In 2011, she sat out such a number of major events, includingt h e w e d d i n g o f Prince Williami n A p r i l , a n d t h e u n v e i l i n g o f t h e Ronald Reagans c u l p t u r e i n L o n d o n i n J u l y. A d d i t i o n a l l y, i n J u l y 2 0 1 1 , T h a t c h e r ' s office in the House of Lords was permanently closed. The closure has been seen by some to mark the end of her public life.B a t t l i n g m e m o r y p r o b l e m s i n h e r l a t e r y e a r s d u e t o h e r s t r o k e s , Thatcher retreated from the spotlight, living in ne ar seclusion at her home inLondon's Belgravia neighborhood.M a r g a r e t T h a t c h e r d i e d o n A p r i l 8 , 2 0 1 3 , a t t h e a g e o f 8 7 . S h e w a s survived by her two children, daughter Carol and son Sir Mark. Thatcher'spolicies and actions continue to be debated by detractors and supportersa l i k e , i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e i n d e l i b l e i m p r e s s i o n t h a t s h e h a s l e f t o n B r i t a i n a n d nations worldwide.

"One of the things being in politics has taught is that men are not a reasoned or reasonable sex." Margaret Thatcher

"I don't think there will be a woman prime minister in my lifetime." Margaret Thatcher 5

Margaret Thatcher makes final journey LONDON: Margaret Thatcher made her final journey on Wednesday to St Paul's Cathedral for her funeral, where Queen Elizabeth II led mourners from 170 countries to bid farewell to one of Britain's most influential and divisive prime ministers.Parliament's famous Big Ben bell was silenced as Thatcher's coffin draped in the Union Jack wascarried to a hearse and driven through the streets of London lined by 700 soldiers, sailors andairmen in full ceremonial uniform.Some 4,000 police officers have been deployed for the event, amid heightened security followingthe bombings at the Boston Marathon and fears of disruption by opponents of a politician whostill arouses strong passions even in death.Tens of thousands of well-wishers applauded as the cortege passed by in tribute to the "IronLady" who transformed Britain and helped end the Cold War during her 11 years in power.The coffin, dressed with a bouquet of white flowers and a handwritten card reading "BelovedMother -- Always in Our Hearts", was taken to a chapel on the Strand before being transferredon to a gun carriage drawn by six black horses for the second leg of the procession to St Paul's.A Royal Marines band led the way playing funeral marches by Chopin, Beethoven andMendelssohn, while guns were fired every minute from the Tower of London."I wanted to pay my respects to the best prime minister since Churchill," said Gloria Martin, a property developer in her 60s with an array of "I Love Maggie" badges pinned to her chest."She was strong, she was resolute, and she put her country first above any idea of popularity.People admired her for that even if they didn't like Thatcher's policies."The funeral, nine days after Thatcher died from a stroke aged 87, is the first time the queen hasattended a prime ministerial funeral since Winston Churchill died in 1965.The Falklands War, viewed by many of her admirers as Thatcher's finest hour, was a centraltheme of the ceremony with veterans of the 1982 conflict with Argentina walking behind her coffin.Argentina was pointedly not represented among the 2,300 guests, who included US politicalfigures Dick Cheney and Henry Kissinger, the prime ministers of Canada, Israel, Italy, Polandand Kuwait, and show business stars from Thatcher's time in power.

Current Prime Minister David Cameron and three former premiers, John Major, Tony Blair andGordon Brown also joined the mourners along with all the current cabinet as well as all survivingmembers of Thatcher's cabinet and the opposition Labour leader.But the pomp and splendour -- paid for with millions of pounds of public money -- have sparkedcriticism from those who argue that Thatcher was too polarising a figure to merit such a state-sponsored sendoff.Protesters in the crowd turned their backs as the funeral cortege went by to complain at thedamage wrought by her radical free-market economic reforms, which created massunemployment in Britain's industrial heartlands."We're spending 10 million (11.7 million euros, $15.3 million) on it and that's disgraceful andunacceptable at a time of austerity," said 22year-old student Casper Winslow, who held a placard reading "Rest of us in poverty".The government has yet to disclose the costs of the funeral but has said it will be considerablyless than the reported 10 million.Cameron insisted it was right to give Thatcher a proper farewell."I think it'll be quite a sombre event, but it is a fitting tribute to a great prime minister respectedaround the world," Cameron, the current leader of Thatcher's Conservative Party, told BBCradio."And I think other countries in the world would think Britain got it completely wrong if we didn'tmark this in a proper way."Thatcher's coffin spent the night at the 13th-century Chapel of St Mary Undercroft inWestminster after a private ceremony attended by her 59-yearold twin children Mark and Caroland former colleagues.On its arrival at St Paul's for the 11 am (1000 GMT) service, the coffin was to be carried up thewest steps by eight men from military units that served in the Falklands, followed by two brothers who survived an attack on their vessel by Argentina during the war.The crowd of black-clad mourners in the cathedral were to sing Christian hymns reflectingThatcher's strict Methodist upbringing, while Cameron and Thatcher's granddaughter Amandawere to give readings from the Bible, followed by a blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury,Justin Welby.Britain's first female prime minister, who was in office from 1979 to 1990, had suffered fromdementia and was rarely seen in public for the final years of her life.

Her death prompted tributes poured in from around the world highlighting the role she played in bringing down the Iron Curtain by reaching out to reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachevand persuading US president Ronald Reagan to do the same.Gorbachev and Reagan's wife Nancy did not attend the funeral due to ill-health.-AFP

Why was Margaret Thatcher able to remain as the leader of the Conservative party for fifteenyears?More evidently still, was that Margret Thatcher was the prime minister for the 1980s 1 .Margaret Thatcher remains a divisive figure in both the eyes of the public and the eyes of theConservative party with her actions and legacy causing the splitting of opinions across the political divide. Many, as the above quote suggests, believe that she was the hope and saviour of the United Kingdom and was the person to lead the Conservative party and the country atthat time. Her success in remaining as leader of the party for fifteen year is part , as ever, dueto circumstances that happened before and during her leadership but also due to evidence thatshe was a dominant figure while also being leader of a team which held similar ideas andheld key posts 2 . This dominate figure helped to deliver what was considered at the time anunprecedented third term of office while at the time keeping a steady hand on the party.Margaret Thatcher became leader of the conservative party 11 th February 1975 havingdefeated Edward Heath in the leadership challenge by 11 votes 3 and defeating WilliamWhitelaw in the second ballet by 67 votes to become the first major party in the westernworld to elect a woman leader 4 . Upon being elected, in the questions following her firstengagement a taste of her personality and of what was to follow in leadership style. She wasasked whether see had won just because she was a woman, her reply was I like to think thatI won on merit with other questions being answered in rapid, short, to the point answerswhich surprised the assembled press audience 5 . Thatchers personality and leadership stylewere major contributors to her ability to remain as leader of the conservative party, other new prime ministers had the strength of mind to change policies when they thought they werewrong. Mrs Thatcher had the strength of mind to not change policies when she thought shewas right 6 .Thatcher believed that the ideas and views she held were morally right and for the best of the nation and that u-turns once in government were a little heard concept withonly very strong pressure from ministers softening these views 7 . With this belief in followingthe right path she impressed foreign leaders with her strength, in 1986 the Singapore leader,Lee Kuan Yew, said, She has guts and stands up for what she believes in 8 , across the worldinitial detestation grew into watchful respect. At home she ruled the cabinet and by extensionthe party with an iron fist with ministers that were too loyal or too afraid of the sack toquestion mistaken policies fundamentally 9

. She came to cabinet meetings with policy to beannounced rather than to be discussed and debated; she became an almost elective dictator inregards to policy. Her diminishment of the cabinet was partly a factor in how she was able toremain leader of the Conservative party for fifteen years. Over nine years she kept only three

cabinet members who were there from the start and none who might constitute a source of countervailing advice, let alone power, to her own 10 .By keeping a tight leash on the partyand the cabinet she avoided until the end challenges to her leadership. The tight leash wasmaintained through a combination of the inspired vision to lead the party, instilling in it the belief that this was the only way that could be persuaded and that this path could only betread with her at the helm. The strong leadership and persona that was projected at home andabroad allowed her to remain as an effective and constant leader with this strong leadershipand refusal to turn from the path leading to the acronym TINA (There is no alternative) 11 .Thatchers leadership and personality played a considerable role in her ability to remain asleader of the Conservative party, another significant factor helped her remain in power aswell, the failings of the previous labour governments and in following Keynesian economicsand her subsequent economic policy. Labour had entered office in 1974 with what it called anew industrial strategy, which was in fact an extension of industrial policies pursed in the1960s 12 . This resulted in government funding for industrial innovation increasing by 39%,regional subsidies increased by 63%, public expenditure as a proportion of GDP rising 40.4%in 1973/74 to 45.5% in 1974/75 and 1975/76 and public sector spending deficit rising from6.5% of GDP to 11% in the same time frame 13 .These exponential increases in borrowing leadmany foreign entities to question Britains creditworthiness and ability to keep this spendingup causing the pound to depreciate against the dollar 14 . Once the exchange rate fell below acertain rate the bank of England for that its currency reserves were inadequate to buy theamount of sterling that was being dumped onto the market in order to keep the rate at asatisfactory rate 15 .With pounds value against the dollar in freefall in September 1976 theLabour government went to the IMF for a formal application for funds which was given onthe condition of deeply unpopular spending cuts 16 .This disastrous mismanagement of theeconomy coupled with the pay freezes on unions which resulted in the winter of discontentlead many to question the competency of the labour administration. Callaghan put it after losing the 1979 general election, they lost because people

didn't get their dustbins emptied, because commuters were angry about train disruption and because of too much union power 17 .In a similar way to which the conservatives reputation for economic competencewas it tatters after the events of black Wednesday, labours competence was in tatters after theaforementioned events 18 . This helped Thatcher to remain in power and as leader as theopposition did not present a credible alternative that could be taken seriously due to thediscrediting of the 1970s social democracy model 19 . By painting the options she has taken as

the only way to salvation it creates a powerful message 20 which combats the belief that at thetime Britain was in irreversible decline after the Suez crisis. These failings combined with theabove paragraphs convictions lead many to believe that although the path is long and toughthere is hope at the end of the tunnel, whereas in the case of the labour there is no light only a path deeper into the dark.One of the key events in how Thatcher was able to remain leader of the conservative partyand consequently remain as prime minister was the Falklands war. The preceding years tothe Falklands war were critical years for the Thatcher government, they had dwindlingsupport in the even amongst true believers in the cabinet, facing widespread calls of disaster ahead due to the economic indicators 21 .The recession of 1980-81 caused in part by thenecessary shift from over manned manufacturing jobs to new service industries, of which shecalled the jobs of the future 22 even caused the chairman of the CBI to dramatically declarethat he wanted a bare knuckles fight with the government 23 . The government was trailingheavily in the opinion polls with Gallup placing them on equal pegging with Labour at 23%and the Alliance soaring at 50% 24 . The government was at its depths of unpopularity but on2 nd April 1982 the British political kaleidoscope was shaken up once again. Once theArgentinean government invaded the Falklands islands the Thatcher governments responsewas swift and strong, the British task force encompassed more than 28,000 men, 51 warships,21 fleet auxiliaries, 54 chartered merchant ships, and nearly 200 aircraft supporting combatoperations 8,000 miles from home 25 . From this seemingly impossible mountain to climb theFalklands presented her with an opportunity the present herself at the iron lady at home, toshow her as a champion of a strong defender of the realm, protecting British interests andsecuring British pride

26 . She turned what could have easily been a humiliating defeat at thehands of a tinpot South American junta into an improbable military victory which placed her on a pedestal of electoral invincibility from which she would not be toppled for eight year 27 .Before the Falklands there had been murmurings of perhaps the conservative party shouldhave disposed of Thatcher as leader in order to have a u-turn on some unpopular policies inorder to increase their chances of winning the next general election. After the Falklandsconflict her position became unassailable within the party and to the public due to the publicity boost afforded to successful war prime minister and the belief that she was the right person to lead Britain and to fight for its interests.Margret Thatcher was a remarkable leader in not only being the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom but also the fact that she won three consecutive general elections as headof her party. She was able to remain as head of the party for a numerous reason of which

some were down to circumstance and luck whereas others were due to ingrained qualities she possessed. Although the economy appeared to be in a downward spiral in the two year preceding the Falklands war in the weeks before there appeared to be the green shoots of recovery appearing with output rising, inflation was beginning to fall and interest ratesfalling 28 .These effects would have not boosted her popularity and helped her retain themantle of the leadership of the Conservative party nearly as much as her mantle of asuccessful war prime minster did. Without the strong leadership and iron will she exhibitedthroughout her time as leader of the conservative party she may have faced more dissent fromher cabinet and party much earlier on then she did and may have been hampered more by theshambolic front presented by the Labour party. She will always be remembered as one of thegreat prime ministers for the aforementioned reasons with the forceful personality and policies changing the united kingdom for the better, it is for these reasons she was able toremain as leader of the conservative party for fifteen year

Bibliography:Campbell, John, 2009, The iron lady: Margaret Thatcher from grocers daughter to ironlady , London, Vintage booksGamble, Andrew, 1988, The free economy and the strong state , U.S.A, Duke University pressGriffin, Jim, 2012, Still Relevant After All These Years, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 138,no. 5: 48-52. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, First accessed 16/12/2012Johnson, Christopher, 1991, The economy under Mrs. Thatcher 1979-1990, England, Penguin booksPeden, G.C, 1985, British economic and social policy: Lloyd George to Margaret Thatcher ,Oxford, Philip AllanPearce, Robert, 2012, Thatchers rise to power

, History Revie w no. 72: 26-29, AcademicSearch Premier, EBSCOhost, First accessed 16/12/2012Vestli, Ragnhild, 2009,https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/123456789/25576/versjonx12x3007xxHelexoppg aven.pdf?sequence=2 First accessed 15/12/2012Watkins, Alan, 1992, A conservative coup , Great Britain, Redwood press limited 28 Campbell, John, 2009, The iron lady: Margaret Thatcher from grocers daughter to iron lady , London,Vintage books, P 182

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