Margaret Thatcher - the Iron Maiden.

After this unfortunate experience, many people, including Denis Thatcher, did not believe Margaret would continue her career and win another election. However, Margaret was elected the Conservatives’ leader a year after she resigned from the post of Education Minister. Four years later, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female Prime Minister.The U-turn in Margaret’s career was surprising, especially considering that the Conservatives were rapidly losing their electoral support in 1975. There is a reason to attribute Margaret Thatcher’s political success to the economic crises and large-scale strikes in 1978/79, the period that is sometimes described as “the Winter of Discontent” (Margaret Thatcher Foundation, 2023). The strikes revealed that the Labour Party could no longer handle the situation, so the Conservatives’ victory was inevitable.Margaret Thatcher served three terms as Britain’s Prime Minister, and each of them was marked with the events that proved the politician’s nickname was well-deserved. During her first term, Margaret Thatcher authorized sending a Task Force of ships and soldiers to recapture the Falklands Islands that Argentina claimed to be theirs (Margaret Thatcher Foundation, 2023). Due to successful military actions, the Falklands Islands were under British control, which surprised people around the world and became a strong argument for voters to support Thatcher during the upcoming elections.The second term was as problematic for Thatcher as the first one. Some of the crises that the Prime Minister was forced to settle were the attacks of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Cold War, which began shortly after World War II and lasted till the end of Thatcher’s stay in office.The third, and the last, term was associated with a repertoire of reforms across various sectors, including education and healthcare. Many of Thatcher’s reforms were quite controversial and contributed to her party’s discontent that had been brewing for some time already. Thatcher’s career as a Prime Minister ended abruptly in 1990, when one of her longest-serving colleagues, Sir Geoffrey Howe, gave a bitter speech criticizing her endeavours (Margaret Thatcher Foundation, 2023). Howe suggested challenging Thatcher’s leadership by Michael Heseltine who failed the first vote but received sufficient support during the second one.After her resignation, Thatcher wrote several political best-sellers, namely, The Downing Street Years and The Path to Power. She also spent 12 years lecturing in Britain and across its borders. Thatcher died in 2013 and was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.ReferencesMargaret Thatcher Foundation (2023). Who was Margaret Thatcher & what did she do? Margaret Thatcher Foundation, https://www.margaretthatcher.org/essential/kids