Apr 8, 2013

“In politics if you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” — Margaret Thatcher

Britain’s only woman prime minister Margaret Thatcher died Monday following a stroke, according to a family spokesman. She was 87. View photos of Britain’s “Iron Lady” through the years.

: When not engaged in her political work in Dartford (Kent) where she is standing as Tory candidate, Miss Margaret Roberts, youngest candidate for the general election, is busy with her work as a research chemist. Margaret Roberts went on to become Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Photo taken January 24, 1950. (Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)

: Conservative politician and future prime minister Margaret Hilda Thatcher, wiping dishes whilst a nurse looks on in this undated photo. (Chris Ware/Getty Images)

: Margaret Hilda Thatcher as the Conservative candidate for Dartford, Kent, and before she married. (Chris Ware/Getty Images)

: Circa 1950: Conservative candidate Margaret Roberts accompanies four voters on the piano in a sing-song after a brief political argument in the bar of The Bull Inn, Dartford. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: Conservative MP Margaret Thatcher has fun on a ski run in Battersea Park with instructor Joe Hoki on December 7, 1962. (Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images)

: A picture dated February 1975 shows British Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher, then 49, posing in the kitchen of her Chelsea home in London following her February 11,1975 election at the head of the Tory. (AFP/Getty Images)

: Conservative party leader Margaret Thatcher makes a ‘victory’ sign outside her home in Chelsea, London on November 1976. (John Minihan/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

: In a files picture taken on 29 August, 1979 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dressed in an army combat jacket, ventures into frontline bandit territory of South Armagh in Northern Ireland. (AFP/Getty Images)

: British Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, with French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing at a press conference Sept. 20, 1980. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is photographed Aprl 26, 1982, before talking to the BBC TV’s “Panorama” which went out live from the Whips Office at No 12 Downing Street, where she was interviewed by Richard Lindley and Robert Kee on the Falklands crisis. (PA Photos/Abaca Press/MCT)

: British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her German counterpart, Helmut Kohl, at a press conference at Number 12 Downing Street, London April 22, 1983. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: A file picture taken on January 8, 1983, shows former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (R) meeting personnel aboard the ship HMS Antrim during her five-day visit to the Falkand Islands. (Sven Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)

: Soviet Politburo member Mikhail Gorbachev shakes hands with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Chequers on December 16, 1984. (Terry Disney/Express/Getty Images)

: A picture dated June 25, 1984 shows then French President François Mitterrand welcoming British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as she arrives at the Fontainebleau castle to attend a two days summit of the European Economic Community leaders aimed at reaching a decision on Britain’s budget contribution. (Daniel Janin, Gabriel Duval/AFP/Getty Images)

: British prime minister Margaret Thatcher covering her face with her hand at the 1985 Conservative Party Conference. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: Then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (L) and then U.S. President Ronald Reagan share a laugh during a meeting of the Allied leaders in New York in this October 24, 1985 file photo. (Chas Cancellare/Reuters Files)

: A picture dated October 23, 1985 shows then US President Ronald Reagan (L) holding bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (R) at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. (Mike Sargent/AFP/Getty Images)

: Then U.S. President Ronald Reagan drives then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (L) toward their meeting in Camp David in this November 15, 1986 file photo, after her arrival by helicopter from Washington. (Anthony Hayward/Reuters Files)

: Then Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wears a checkered green hat on her 60th birthday as she attends church near her official country residence, Chequers, near Aylesbury, England in this October 13, 1985 file photo. (Brian Smith/Reuters Files)

: British Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, enjoys a cup of tea at the opening of the South Mimms Motorway service area, watched by the press June 6, 1987. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: In a file picture taken on 9 December, 1986, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (L) delivers a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg as the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party Reverend Ian Paisley (R) brandishes a placard saying “Ulster says no”. (Jean-Claude Delmas/AFP/Getty Images)

: Margaret Hilda Thatcher greets President Elect of the European Communities, Jacques Delors, a French Politician, at Downing Street in London. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and husband Denis Thatcher outside her residence at 10 Downing Street, London in this undated file photo. (David Osborn/Reuters Files)

: Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gives a jubilant wave from the stairs inside her Conservative party headquarters in London early in this June 12, 1987 file photo, after sweeping back to power for a third consecutive term of office after the general election. (John Eggitt/Reuters Files)

: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (L) and French President Francois Mitterrand talk to the media before a meeting about nuclear arms control at the Chateau de Benouville in Normandy, western France in this March 23, 1987 file photo. (Charles Platiau/Reuters Files)

: A picture dated March 29, 1987 shows then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher greeting curious Moscovites who gathered to see her in Moscow, during her official visit in USSR. (Daniel Janin/AFP/Getty Images)

: British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (right) holding a chimpanzee in this undated photo. (Keystone/Getty Images)

: President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher take a spin around the dance floor in the foyer of the White House during a State Dinner in the Prime Minister’s honor in this November 16, 1988, file photo. The state dinner for Thatcher was the 55th and final state dinner of the Reagan presidency and was a bookend to the Reagan’s first state dinner in February 1981 which also honored Prime Minister Thatcher. (Larry Rubenstein/Reuters Files)

: Margaret Thatcher gives the final address of the Conservative Convention in Brighton in this October 14, 1988 file photo. (Andy Clark/Reuters Files)

: Then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher points skyward as she receives standing ovation at Conservative Party Conference in this October 13, 1989 file photo. (Stringer/Reuters Files)

: A picture dated Ocotber 13, 1989 shows then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher acknowledging applaud on at the end of the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool. (Johnny Eggitt/AFP/Getty Images)

: A picture dated July 4, 1990 shows South African anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela (R) shaking hands with then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the steps of No 10 Downing Street. (Gerry Penny/AFP/Getty Images)

: Baroness Thatcher examines a sheet of bullet-proof material during a visit to a factory producing ballistic and blast protection products in this April 9, 1997 file photo. (Michael Crabtree/Reuters Files)

: A picture dated October 13, 2005 shows Britain’s former Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher (R) greeting her Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, arriving for Thatcher’s 80th birthday party at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in central London. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (L) is greeted by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as she arrives at Thatcher’s 80th birthday celebrations at the Mandarin hotel in London in this October 13, 2005 file photo. (Kieran Doherty/Reuters Files)

: Baroness Margaret Thatcher (L) and daughter Carol Thatcher watch the match between Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium and Amelie Mauresmo of France during the women’s final match on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 8, 2006 in London, England. (Phil Cole/Getty Images)

: A picture dated June 17, 2007 shows former British Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher (C) posing with some former Parachute Regiment members as they take part in a 25th anniversary march of the Falkland Island conflict in London. (Alistair Grant/AFP/Getty Images)

: Lady Margaret Thatcher walks with Chelsea pensioners (L-R) John Walker, Charles McLaughlin, David Pultney and John Ley during a photocall for the announcement of the naming of the new firmary at the Royal Chelsea Hospital on February 14, 2008 in London, England. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

: Britain’s Prince Charles (2nd L) and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (2nd R) pose with Chelsea pensioners Dorothy Hughes (L) and Winifred Phillips as they attend the opening of a new infirmary at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London in this March 25, 2009 file photo. (Andrew Winning/Reuters Files)

: A picture dated December 3, 2008 shows Baroness Margaret Thatcher at the State Opening of Parliament in London. (Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images)

: Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher attends the State Opening of Parliament at the House of Lords in Westminster, London in this May 25, 2010 file photo. (Arthur Edwards/Reuters)

: A picture dated June 2, 2009 shows former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher attending the opening of a new Canine Partners training accommodation building at the National Training Centre in Heyshott in West Sussex. (Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images)

: Baroness Thatcher waves from the front door of her home after returning from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital following an operation on her broken arm on June 29, 2009 in London, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

: A picture dated November 23, 2009 shows former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher (C) posing for a photograph with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown (R) and his wife Sarah (L) outside 10, Downing Street in London following a meeting to unveil a specially commissioned portrait of Thatcher. (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images)

: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arrives for a service of thanksgiving and re-dedication on Battle of Britain Sunday at Westminster Abbey in London in this September 19, 2010 file photo. (Luke MacGregor/Reuters Files)

: Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher waves to the press at her home after leaving Cromwell Hospital on November 1, 2010 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

: A portrait left by mourners is seen outside the home of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher after her death was announced in London April 8, 2013. Margaret Thatcher , the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87. (Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

Britain’s ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher dies
Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton | Reuters
9:27 a.m. EDT, April 8, 2013

LONDON (Reuters) – Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87.

Britain’s only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous period in office by a British premier since the early 19th century.

A grocer’s daughter with a steely resolve, she was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions, privatized vast swathes of British industry, clashed with the European Union and fought a war to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentine invaders.

She struck up a close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and declared that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was a man she could do business with.

“We’ve lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton,” Prime Minister David Cameron said.

“Her legacy will be the fact that she served her country so well, and she saved our country and she showed immense courage in doing so, and people will be learning about what she did and her achievements in decades, probably centuries to come.”

Cameron cut short a visit to Europe to return to Britain after the death was announced and British flags at Cameron’s official residence, 10 Downing Street, were lowered to half mast.

Mourners began to lay flowers outside her house in Belgravia, one of London’s most exclusive areas. One note said: “The greatest British leader.”

Thatcher died peacefully on Monday morning, said Lord Bell, a spokesman for the family. She had been in poor health for months and had declined into dementia in her final years.

“I think she will be remembered as one of the greatest prime ministers this country has ever had,” Bell said.

“I’m sure she will be remembered in the context of other great men like Winston Churchill. She made a real difference to the way we live our lives,” Bell said.

The British government said Thatcher would have a ceremonial funeral with military honors at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral, which falls short of a full state funeral, in accordance with the wishes of her family.

‘THE LADY’S NOT FOR TURNING’

The abiding images of her premiership will remain those of conflict: huge police confrontations with the miners’ union, her riding a tank in a white headscarf, and flames rising above Trafalgar Square in the riots over an unpopular local tax which ultimately led to her downfall.

“It’s very sad to hear of her death but her legacy and death are two different things. Politically, she did not leave a good legacy for the working class,” Kevin Robertson, a 39-year-old garage manager, told Reuters in Edinburgh.

To those who opposed her she was blunt to a degree. “The lady’s not for turning”, she once famously informed members of her own Conservative Party who were urging her to moderate her policies.

Others who crossed her path, particularly in Europe, were subjected to withering diatribes often referred to as “handbaggings”, named after the black leather bag she invariably carried.

Queen Elizabeth said she was sad to hear the news of Thatcher’s death and sent a message of sympathy to her family.

“Her memory will live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today’s politics,” said London Mayor Boris Johnson.

(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon, Stephen Addison, Paul Sandle and Mike Holden in London and Ian MacKenzie in Edinburgh; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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