Margaret Thatcher was a world-famous politician, her father was carefully educated and indoctrinated as a teenager, the unremitting struggle and experience of her youth, the support and loyalty of her husband behind the scenes, and the British political scene of the 1980s gave her the opportunity to govern; The depressed economic environment gave her the opportunity to reform; Let the United Kingdom regain its strength, once again ranked among the top five in the West, and won her the title of "Iron Lady".
Today, we will take you to know Margaret Thatcher and her people, and learn from her life's successes and failures.
Growth stages
#1
Independent thinking is never a matter of course
In May 1979, when Margaret(Margaret) moved into 10 Downing Street, the world-renowned first female prime minister, she said: "All my achievements are due to the education and cultivation of my father, Mr. Roberts." When Margaret was only 5 years old, her father taught her: everything should have her own opinion, use her own brain to judge right and wrong, and never follow the crowd.
#2
Teach by example, be confident and decisive
Margaret Thatcher was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, more than 100 miles from London. His father, Alfred Roberts, rose from a small grocery store owner to a tireless effort to become a eunuch, serving as a councillor, mayor, and judge. The father passed on to his youngest daughter, Margaret, his strong fighting spirit, his eloquent talent, and his love of law and politics. In the family, Father Alfred was a man of authority, he was in charge of everything, he said what he said, and no one was allowed to express any doubt. This personality of his influenced Margaret a lot, and the later female prime minister's work style was very similar to her father's style at home.
#3
The British version of "Mengmu Three Moves" will always compete for the first place
Alfred had high hopes for his young daughter, and he saw that she had great potential, and he thought that it was time to give her a good education, to make her educated, to make her a talent, to have a certain place in society, so that at the age of five, when she was in elementary school, Margaret was sent to a school on Huntington Tor Road, more than a mile from home, and the people who came to school were children with backgrounds. Isn't this a bit like Chinese parents buying school district homes and choosing schools now?
Her father was very strict with her education, and often instilled in her the idea that no matter what she did, she should strive to be first-class, always be ahead of others, and not lag behind others. Even if you take the bus, always sit in the first row. Father never allowed her to say things like "I can't" or "it's too hard." Her father's "cruel" education fostered Margaret's determination and confidence to be positive.
In the future study, life and work, she always keeps in mind her father's teachings, always holds the spirit of indomitable progress and the belief of victory, does her best to overcome all difficulties, strives for the first place in everything, and practices "always sitting in the first row" with her own actions. When Margaret went to college, the school required students to take 5 years of Latin courses, and she learned it all in one year with her tenacious perseverance and fighting spirit.
Not only is Margaret excelling academically, she is also at the forefront of sports, music, speaking and other school activities, and is one of the best among the students.
Struggle for youth
Entrance to the temple
In 1943, margaret was 18 years old, a year of decisive significance for Margaret's life, she worked hard to step into the threshold of Oxford University, Oxford university has a unique tradition of breeding politicians, many politicians have come out of here. Margaret's experience at Oxford University laid the foundation for her later life as Prime Minister. By the third year of college, she had become president of the Oxford University Conservative Club, and under her leadership the association had more than a thousand members by the autumn of 1946. In her final year at the university, she was fortunate enough to become the second ever female president of the Student Council.
Fledgling
During her studies at Oxford, she first met many people who would complement each other on the political path of the future, such as the future Secretary of State of Education Edward Boyle, later the editor-in-chief of The Times and the house of lord William Ris Mog. In 1949, at the age of 24, she ran as a Conservative Candidate for Dartford District. And so she started a new life and journey with a new stance, she lobbied everywhere, campaigned aggressively, but was eventually frustrated by the Labour Party and later ran many more times, but always suffered in a cycle of hope-disappointment.
It wasn't until 1958 that she didn't come to work, and in the 1959 general election, Margaret Thatcher won by 16,260 votes to become a member of parliament for the Finchley constituency, a success that marked her becoming a career politician.
Here's a little story of hers that has to be mentioned, many people like to eat cone ice cream, you know, this is that Margaret Thatcher used her knowledge of chemistry to invent.
Show promise
In September 1961, Margaret Thatcher was nominated by then-Prime Minister Harold Macmillan as parliamentary secretary of the Department of Pensions and National Insurance, and for the first time began serving in the Cabinet. This experience has greatly enhanced her practical ability and become a political star in the Conservative Party.
As an opposition mp, Margaret Thatcher concentrated her fire on the new tax system imposed by the Labour government during parliamentary debates. Not only is this new tax system, she argues, inconsistent with the traditional ideology of the Western world, but also runs the risk of tilting in the opposite direction of capitalism. This debate earned her the reputation of "parliamentary debater" and established her position as a staunch conservative representative.
In 1970, Margaret Thatcher finally got her wish and became Secretary of State for Education and Science in Ted Heath's cabinet.
Major achievements
Toughly safeguard national sovereignty
At that time, British Defense Minister Nott reported to Margaret Thatcher that the Falklands were occupied by Argentina and could not be recaptured. Thatcher had made up his mind to defend Britain's dignity and would stop at nothing to win the war. This lady had never been a soldier, but when she became the leader of the country, she showed great will to defend British power and interests, and carried it out in the army and in combat.
Resolutely carry out free market reforms
When Margaret Thatcher came to power, she first controlled inflation. She controls inflation through monetary tightening. The consequence was that the unemployment rate rose from 10 per cent to about 12 per cent. Managing inflation comes at the expense of jobs. Thatcher also took a series of initiatives: privatization, tax cuts, deregulation to encourage competition, weakening unions.
The British economy is entering a period of good development, and some people have commented that It was Margaret Thatcher who saved the British economy.
Quarrel with the whole of Europe for the sake of safeguarding national interests
The extremely isolated British prime minister is waring a group of angry European leaders who use German, French, Italian accents to convict them. Margaret Thatcher engaged in polemics with European leaders of the time. Her tone was not gentle at all. She denounced the conceited bureaucracy: the artificial utopian super-state you want to create will be a German-dominated "Tower of Babel" burdened by the economic crisis.
Thatcher's political philosophy
Thatcher's Britain under thatcher undertwent earth-shaking changes, traditional heavy industry was replaced, a new free-market economy was born, and the political philosophy she founded still dominates British politics today. Critics say the cost of these changes is a more divided society and the collapse of the traditional working class. If it weren't for Margaret Thatcher, Britain would be a different story today. Her bold free-market economy reforms and restrictions on union power, controversial measures in the 1980s, are now the consensus of mainstream parties in Britain. During her tenure, British politics turned to the right, she was a symbol of the international stage, and she became a leading figure in right-wing politics along with President Reagan.
Sad old age
In the early hours of November 22, 1990, Margaret Thatcher met with members of the Cabinet and did not receive their strong support. In the end, it can only be announced: resignation as prime minister. Since then, a political star has fallen, and the era belonging to Margaret Thatcher has quietly ended.
Due to her long years in politics, Thatcher's emotional care for a pair of children was greatly lacking, resulting in a very average relationship between the two children and her. The daughter was sent to boarding school from an early age, and the mother-daughter relationship was very indifferent; the son grew up spoiled, became a clumsy boy and went to prison.
In August 2001, Margaret Thatcher and her husband Dennis showed signs of a stroke while celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on the Portuguese island of Madeira. However, she always claimed that everything was fine, but her physical condition was not good.
In June 2003, Margaret Thatcher's beloved Dennis died. The husband, who has quietly supported her for decades in politics, has always acted as the "man behind the prime minister" and has always been her staunchest supporter, and his death has hit Thatcher hard.
In 2003, Margaret Thatcher had suffered a severe stroke and amnesia, and even that Margaret that she had forgotten that her husband had died, and her daughter had to remind her of the bad news again and again. In the years since, her health has deteriorated, and not only her memory has declined, but she has also had more and more difficulty in speaking.
On 8 April 2013, Margaret Thatcher died of stroke sequelae at the age of 87. Although she had made it clear before her death that she did not need a state funeral, out of respect for her legendary life, the British held a "ceremonial funeral" for her with military honors.
On April 17, 2013, Margaret Thatcher's funeral was held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and although it was not a state funeral, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip made an exception. After the ceremony, the coffin was taken to the Royal Chelsea Hospital in south London for cremation, after which the ashes were buried next to the grave of her deceased husband Dennis.
Those who praised her called her a hero in defending the free world and reviving Britain's economy; those who cursed her, saying she was a demon who suppressed the striking populace and destroyed the welfare system. This is Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady.
Is the image of this strong woman who changed the world with an iron fist in the twentieth century an angel or a devil? Maybe there will never be a standard answer.
In fact, people cannot be conclusive, because people are the people of the times.