THATCHER, MARGARET

born October 13, 1925, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England Margaret Thatcher, 1983. in full Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven ne Margaret Hilda Roberts byname Iron Lady British Conservative Party politician and prime minister (197990), Europe's first woman prime minister. The only British prime minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive terms and, at the time of her resignation, Britain's longest continuously serving prime minister since 1827,she accelerated the evolution of the British economy from statism to liberalism and became, by personality as much as achievement, the most renowned British political leader since Winston Churchill. Hugo Young Additional reading Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years (1993, reprinted 1995), and The Path to Power (1995), are her memoirs and provide indispensable insights. Views of Thatcher by her colleagues include Nigel Lawson, The View from No. 11: Memoirs of a Tory Radical (1992); Geoffrey Howe, Conflict of Loyalty (1994); and Ian Gilmour, Dancing with Dogma (1992), which analyzes the defects of Thatcherism.Biographies include George Gardiner, Margaret Thatcher: From Childhood to Leadership (1975); Penny Junor, Margaret Thatcher: Wife, Mother, Politician (1983); Patrick Cosgrave, Thatcher: The First Term (1985); and Hugo Young, One of Us, updated ed. (1991, reissued 1993; also published as The Iron Lady, 1989).Studies of Thatcherism include Peter Jenkins, Mrs. Thatcher's Revolution (1987, reissued 1989), which chronicles her assault on socialism; Peter Riddell, The Thatcher Government, updated ed. (1985), and The Thatcher Decade (1989); and Dennis Kavanagh and Anthony Seldon (eds.), The Thatcher Effect (1989, reissued 1991), which provides copious assessments and statistical support. Hugo Young