Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was the British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold that office.
Her aggressive free-market policies and confrontational style earned her the nickname "the Iron Lady." Thatcherism became shorthand for privatization, union-busting, and rolling back the welfare state.
She remains deeply polarizing—revered by conservatives, reviled by the British left.
Hard and unwavering
- resoluteFixed in purpose
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- formidableInspiring fear or respect
- determinedFirmly committed to purpose
strong-willed · inflexible · stern · uncompromising · handbag · handbagging · indomitable · tenacious
British premier's official residence
- WestminsterLondon's political center
- FalklandsDisputed South Atlantic archipelago
- ToryBritish right-wing partisan
- Prime MinisterParliamentary head of state
Whitehall · Grantham · Commonwealth · Sterling · privatisation · poll tax · miners' strike · IRA
Unregulated private exchange
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
- neoliberalPro-privatization economic stance
- privatizationState sells public assets
- deregulationRemoving governmental business restrictions
monetarism · individualism · laissez-faire · supply-side · council housing · enterprise · anti-union · Hayek
Position number one
- womanAdult female human
- femaleOffspring-bearing sex
- Prime MinisterParliamentary head of state
- glass ceilingUnacknowledged limit blocking advancement
pioneer · Oxford · chemist · barrister · mother · wife · Denis · Carol
Causing sharp disagreement
- controversialCausing public dispute
- contentiousInclined toward disagreement
- minersOre extractors
- unionsCombinations or confederations
manufacturing · deindustrialization · unemployment · North-South divide · Brixton · class war · beloved · reviled
steely
Hard and unwavering
- resoluteFixed in purpose
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- formidableInspiring fear or respect
determined · strong-willed · inflexible · stern · uncompromising · handbag · handbagging · indomitable · tenacious · conviction
Downing Street
British premier's official residence
- WestminsterLondon's political center
- FalklandsDisputed South Atlantic archipelago
- ToryBritish right-wing partisan
Prime Minister · Whitehall · Grantham · Commonwealth · Sterling · privatisation · poll tax · miners' strike · IRA · EEC
free-market
Unregulated private exchange
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
- neoliberalPro-privatization economic stance
- privatizationState sells public assets
deregulation · monetarism · individualism · laissez-faire · supply-side · council housing · enterprise · anti-union · Hayek · Friedman
first
Position number one
- womanAdult female human
- femaleOffspring-bearing sex
- Prime MinisterParliamentary head of state
glass ceiling · pioneer · Oxford · chemist · barrister · mother · wife · Denis · Carol · Mark
divisive
Causing sharp disagreement
- controversialCausing public dispute
- contentiousInclined toward disagreement
- minersOre extractors
unions · manufacturing · deindustrialization · unemployment · North-South divide · Brixton · class war · beloved · reviled · legacy
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution
- notable womenRosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Florence Nightingale, Susan B. Anthony
- Met Queen Elizabeth IIPrince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Diana
- politicianspoliticians, Joe Biden, congressman, Nancy Pelosi, senator
- ConservativesBarry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, National Review, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity
- Downing Streetfront door, official residence, Georgian architecture, historic building, security gates
Margaret ThatcherFidel Castro
Cuban revolutionary dictator
Hugo Chávez · Karl Marx · Aneurin Bevan · Marxist · communist
Margaret ThatcherJimmy Carter
Georgia governor turned president
Neville Chamberlain · Justin Trudeau · compromiser · appeaser · conciliator