History has been filled with a variety of famous personalities all around the world. Each of these personalities has left their mark on the world in their own way and their ideas and contributions continue to shape the life of people today as well.
Due to their contributions, many of these personalities have been given a nickname. There is one personality in history whose contributions and daring personality earned her the title of Iron Lady of Britain. Do you know who she is? Let’s find out.
Who is Known As the Iron Lady of Britain?
Margaret Thatcher was titled as the Iron Lady of Britain. She was the first woman Prime Minister of Britain and held the office for 11 years. She was given this title because she had a no nonsense approach towards politics. She took office on 4th May 1979 and served till 1990.
Early Life of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Her birth name was Margaret Hilda Roberts. She was born to Alfred Roberts and Beatrice Ethel Stephenson. She spent her childhood in Grantham itself where her father owned a grocery store.
She attended Huntingtower Road Primary School and she was a bright child from an early age. She got scholarships as well as performed well in extracurricular activities as well.
Margaret got a scholarship to study at Oxford and decided to study Chemistry. She started her studies under Dorothy Hodgkin and graduated in 1947. She also received a Master of Arts degree in the year 1950.
Margaret Thatcher Political Career
It was the year 1950 when Margaret became the Conservative candidate for the Labour seat of Dartford. However, she lost to Norman Dodds. She also gained media attention as she was the youngest and the only female candidate.
Thatcher was defeated again when she stood up in the Orpington by-election. Later in 1958 she was selected as a candidate for Finchley. She was elected as an MP in the year 1959.
Her talent pushed her to become a Prime Minister in her early 20s. In 1961 she became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry for Pensions. She was the youngest woman to receive this post.
The Conservative Party won the elections in the year 1970 and Thatcher was appointed as the Secretary of State for Education and Science. Her political career took many shifts until the year 1979 when she became the Prime Minister of Britain on 4 May 1979. Throughout the 1980s she was known as the most powerful lady in the world.
Major Contributions of Margaret Thatcher
She served as the Prime Minister of Britain for three consecutive terms. Here are some of the major contributions done by Margaret Thatcher:
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She reduced the powers of different labor unions as they continuously brought obstacles to the economy by organising a lot of strikes.
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She came up with the Housing Act of 1980. This Act allowed millions of people who were living in government housing to buy their own places.
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In 1982 she successfully ordered a military response against Argentina's invasion in the Falkland Islands.
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She reduced the control of the government on businesses so the costs can be reduced.
Why Was Margaret Thatcher Given this Title?
It was the year 1976, before she became the Prime Minister of Britain when Margaret was given the title of Iron Lady of Britain. This was given after Margaret gave her "Britain Awake" foreign policy speech which criticised the Soviet Union.
It was the Soviet Army journal known as Red Star that reported her speech with the headline "Iron Lady Raises Fears".
She embraced the title a week later and mentioned in one of her speeches that she liked the name.