Margaret+Thatcher

=__Margaret Thatcher__= Thatcher had an early desire to be a politician. She studied at chemistry at Oxford. and was active in politics; she became one of the first woman presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association. After graduating in 1946 she worked for four years as a research chemist. From 1954 she practiced as a barrister, specializing in tax law. In 1951 she married an industrialist, Denis Thatcher, with whom she had twins; one boy, one girl.
 * British Conservative Party politician and Prime Minister (1979–90)**
 * Europe’s first woman Prime Minister**
 * The only British prime minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive terms**
 * Britain’s longest continuously serving prime minister since 1827**
 * Became the most renowned British political leader since Winston Churchill**

Thatcher first ran for Parliament in 1950 but was unsuccessful, despite increasing the local Conservative vote by 50 percent. In 1959 she entered the House of Commons and rose steadily within the party, serving as a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance (1961–64), as chief opposition spokesman on education (1969–70), and as secretary of state for education and science (1970–74) in Heath's government. While a member of the Heath cabinet she eliminated a program that provided free milk to schoolchildren, which was controversial and lead the the nickname “Thatcher the milk snatcher.” She also created more comprehensive schools than any other education minister in history. After Heath lost two successive elections in 1974, Thatcher was the only minister who challenged him for the party leadership.She was elected leader in February 1975.

As Prime Minister Thatcher advocated greater independence of the individual from the state, and ended government interference in the economy through rivatization of state-owned enterprises and the sale of public housing to tenants, reductions in expenditures on social services such as the NHS, education, and housing; limitations on the printing of money, and legal restrictions on Trade Unions.