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Photo of Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Actor
Born October 13, 1925Died April 8, 2013 (87 years)
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist before becoming a barrister. She was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her secretary of state for education and science in his 1970–1974 government. In 1975, she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become leader of the opposition, the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

On becoming prime minister after winning the 1979 general election, Thatcher introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high inflation and Britain's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an oncoming recession. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised greater individual liberty, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Her popularity in her first years in office waned amid recession and rising unemployment. Victory in the 1982 Falklands War and the recovering economy brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her landslide re-election in 1983. She survived an assassination attempt by the Provisional IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing and achieved a political victory against the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1984–85 miners' strike. In 1986, Thatcher oversaw the deregulation of UK financial markets, leading to an economic boom, in what came to be known as the Big Bang.

Thatcher was re-elected for a third term with another landslide in 1987, but her subsequent support for the Community Charge (also known as the "poll tax") was widely unpopular, and her increasingly Eurosceptic views on the European Community were not shared by others in her cabinet. She resigned as prime minister and party leader in 1990, after a challenge was launched to her leadership, and was succeeded by John Major, her chancellor of the Exchequer. After retiring from the Commons in 1992, she was given a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher (of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire) which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords. In 2013, she died of a stroke at the Ritz Hotel, London, at the age of 87.

A polarising figure in British politics, Thatcher is nonetheless viewed favourably in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers. Her tenure constituted a realignment towards neoliberal policies in Britain; the complex legacy attributed to this shift continues to be debated into the 21st century.

Filmography

2024
Bombing Brighton: The Plot to Kill Thatcher · as Self - Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
2024
Secrets & Spies: A Nuclear Game (TV Series) · as Self (archive)
2024
2024
2023
Finding the Money · as Self - Uk Prime Minister 1979 - 1990
2023
In the Grip of Gazprom · as Self (archive Footage) (uncredited)
2023
Augusto Pinochet: The Coup, the Torture & the West · as Self - Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
2023
Margaret Thatcher, l'inoxydable · as Self (archive Footage)
2023
2023
2023
2023
2022
2022
Nothing Compares · as Self
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
Prelúdio · as Self (archive Footage)
2022
McEnroe · as Self (archive Footage) (uncredited)
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2021
Freddie Mercury - The Final Act · as Self - Former Prime Minister England
2021
2021
Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins · as Self (archive Footage)
2021
Censor · as Margaret Thatcher
2021
Mrs Thatcher vs the Miners · as Self (archive Footage)
2021
2020
2020
Blitzed! · as Self
2020
History 101 (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2020
2020
Influence · as Self (archive Footage)
2019
1979 Big Bang of the Present · as Self - Politician (archive Footage)
2019
VHS Nasty · as Self
2019
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks · as Self (archive Footage)
2019
2019
2019
L'homme a mangé la terre · as Self (archive Footage)
2019
Framing John DeLorean · as Self - Prime Minister Of Great Britain
2019
Thatcher: A Very British Revolution (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2019
2019
Brexit · as Self (archive Footage)
2019
Icons (2019) (TV Series) · as Self
2018
Mother's Day · as Self
2018
Meeting Gorbachev · as Self (archive Footage)
2018
2017
2017
2017
6 Days · as Herself (archive Footage) (uncredited)
2017
The Reagan Show · as Self
2017
2016
The Social · as Self
2016
Shadow World · as Self - Politician (archive Footage)
2016
2016
How to Win the US Presidency · as Self (archive Footage)
2016
2016
Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach · as Self (archive Footage)
2016
Team Foxcatcher · as Self - Former Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
2016
Hillsborough · as Self (archive Footage)
2015
2015
The Emperor's New Clothes · as Self (archive Footage)
2014
2014
The Forecaster · as Self
2014
2014
Pride · as Self
2014
New World Order: Communism by Backdoor · as Self (archive Footage)
2013
2013
2013
2012
2012
Propaganda · as Self (archive Footage)
2012
2012
2012
Frost on Interviews · as Self - Former Prime Minister 1979-90
2011
2011
Reagan · as Self (archive Footage)
2011
2010
Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics · as Self (archive Footage)
2010
2010
2010
Royal Wedding · as Self
2010
2009
The Shock Doctrine · as Self (archive Footage)
2009
A Call to Arms · as Self
2008
Hunger · as Self - Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
2008
2008
2008
Derek · as Self
2008
The Depths · as Self
2008
2007
2007
2007
The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2006
2006
This Is England · as Self
2006
Best Ever Spitting Image · as Self (archive Footage)
2006
2005
2005
2005
How Art Made the World (TV Series) · as Self
2003
Ultimate Gretzky · as Self
2003
The Deal · as Self
2002
2002
The Falklands Play Row · as Self - Prime Minister
2002
The Century of the Self (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2002
2001
Blood of the Vikings (TV Series) · as Self
2001
The Pinochet Case · as Self (archive Footage)
2001
2001
The Secret Rulers of the World (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2001
Endgame in Ireland · as Self (prime Minister Of Great Britain)
1999
Blackadder Back & Forth · as Self (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1998
The Real .... (TV Series) · as Self
1998
World War Three · as Self
1997
1996
1996
Whoever That Fails (TV Series) · as Self
1996
The Gulf War (TV Series) · as Self
1995
1995
Underground · as Self (at Funeral Of Tito)
1994
Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy · as Self (sits With Suharto)
1994
1993
Thatcher: The Downing Street Years (TV Series) · as Herself
1992
Elizabeth R · as Self
1991
November Days · as Self
1987
American Experience (TV Series) · as Self
1987
Biography (TV Series) · as Self
1987
The Falklands War: The Untold Story · as Self (archive Footage)
1985
Fashion Aid · as Self
1983
1982
Saturday Superstore (TV Series) · as Self
1982
Wogan (TV Series) · as Self
1981
The Royal Wedding · as Self - British Prime Minister
1980
Rude Boy · as Self
1979
60 Minutes Australia (TV Series) · as Self
1978
1975
Arena (1975) (TV Series) · as Self
1975
Hennessy · as Self
1975
Good Morning America (TV Series) · as Self
1971
A-studio (TV Series) · as Self
1968
60 Minutes (TV Series) · as Self
1966
Firing Line (TV Series) · as Self
1964
Horizon (TV Series) · as Self - Prime Minister
1963
World in Action (TV Series) · as Self
1954
Disneyland (TV Series) · as Self
1953
Panorama (TV Series) · as Self
1952
Today (TV Series) · as Self - British Prime Minister

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