british political leader and Europe's first female prime minister. she was Born in 1925, in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. thatcher was educated at Somerville College and at Oxford University, where she was the first woman president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. She earned a master of arts degree from Oxford in 1950 and worked briefly as a research chemist. In 1950 she ran unsuccessfully for Parliament, although she did increase the Conservative Party vote by 50 percent in her district. On her second attempt in 1959, Thatcher won a seat in Parliament. She soon became prominent among other politicians. Because of her debating skills she was frequently called upon by fellow conservatives to respond to the policies of the Labour Party, their political opponents. She served as joint parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance from 1961 to 1964, then as secretary of state for education and science under Prime Minister Edmund Heath from 1970 to 1974. In 1972, when she was at the Ministry of Education, she was referred to in the Sun newspaper as "the most unpopular woman in Britain."When the conservatives won a decisive victory in the 1979 general elections Thatcher became prime minister. Upon entering office she advocated measures that would limit government control, such as giving individuals greater independence from the state, ending government interference in the economy, and reducing public expenditures. Although her conservative philosophy met with approval, during her first two terms unemployment nearly tripled, the number of poor people increased, and bankruptcies resulted from her efforts to curb inflation. Thatcher became known as the "Iron Lady" because of her strict control over her cabinet and the country's economic policies. Extending her firm approach into foreign relations, she helped Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) establish independence in 1980 and two years later she oversaw the successful British seizure of the Falkland Islands from Argentina. This victory led to her landslide re-election in 1983.

During her third term Thatcher continued the "Thatcher revolution" by returning education, health care, and housing to private control. She also supported the campaign to keep Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, a position that could have been fatal: In 1984 terrorist bombers nearly succeeded in killing Thatcher and several members of her administration in Brighton, Sussex.

In 1990 she resined from office and was awarded the Order of Merit by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. In 1992 she was elevated to the House of Lords to become Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, and in 1995 she was made a member of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.