FILE - In this April 9, 1975 file photo, former California Governor Ronald Reagan presents a silver dollar medallion to Opposition Leader Margaret Thatcher when he visited her office at the House of Commons in London. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
[Note regarding the captions. The captions provided by the Associated Press, and used uncorrected by the San Francisco Gate/Chronicle would be a deathly embarrassment to any self-respecting newspaperman. They are full of spelling, capitalization and factual errors. Is this an affirmative action thing, or is concern about usage and facts passé?]
Margaret Thatcher, the head of the British Conservative Party, met with Ronald Reagan, the former governor of California, at the Chamber of Communes in London in 1978. Photo: Keystone-France, File
FILE - In this June 9, 1982 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, right, smiles with satisfaction as President Ronald Reagan makes a farewell speech outside her Downing Street office in London prior to his departure for Bonn. It is not often that the president of the United States needs to seek fashion advice. But when Ronald Reagan was getting ready for a visit to England as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1982, his people had an important question for the Brits: Just what does one wear to go riding with the queen in the magnificent horse country surrounding Windsor Castle? The answer: Something smart, but casual, of course. Riding boots, breeches and a turtleneck sweater would do fine _ no need for formal riding attire. The fashion inquiry is but one tidbit contained in nearly 500 pages of formerly Confidential [sic] documents relating to the Reagan visit being made public Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 by Britain's National Archives. (AP Photo/Bob Dear, File) Photo: Bob Dear
Photo of the participants of the 8th summit of the Western industrialized countries that opened in June 1982 in Versailles. From left to right : president of European Commission Gaston Thorn, Japanese Prime Minister Senko Suzuki, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, US president Ronald Reagan, French president Fran�ois Mitterrand, West-German Chancelor [sic] Helmut Schmidt, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, president of Italian Council Giovanni Spadolini, and Belgian Prime Minister Wilfrid Martens. Photo: AFP, File
FILE - In this June 23, 1982 file photo, President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher speak to reporters at the White House in Washington. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher wave after their arrival in Camp David, Dec. 22, 1984, before their meeting. Photo: Getty Images
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 1985 file photo, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher meets with her friend and political ally President Ronald Reagan during a visit to the White House in Washington. Thatcher, who led Britain for 11 years, died of a stroke Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite
Ronald Reagan's dog Lucky was so rambunctious -- here dragging the president and Margaret Thatcher around the White House grounds -- that he was banished.
President Reagan reviewed an honor guard with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1988. Associated Press file photo by Scott Stewart
FILE - In this Dec. 15, 1984 file photo, Mikhail S. Gorbachev poses with Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in London. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
Summit leaders walk to lunch at Cohen House at Cohen House at Rice University following a morning session. (l-r) President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors; Prime Minister of Italy, Giulio Andreotti; Prime Minister of Japan, Toshiki Kaifu; Prime Mininister [sic] of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher; President of France, Francoise Mitterand; Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl; US President George HW Bush and Prime minister [sic] of Canada, Brian Mulroney. July 10, 1990. Photo: Nuri Vallbona, Houston Chronicle
[N.S.: They even got the order wrong! That's Helmut Kohl next to Mrs. Thatcher, then comes Mitterand!]
Posted by Nicholas Stix
Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady, dead at 87
By Gregory Katz and Robert Barr
Monday, April 8, 2013; updated 8:49 a.m.
Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle
LONDON (AP) — Love her or loathe her, one thing's beyond dispute: Margaret Thatcher transformed Britain.
The Iron Lady, who ruled for 11 remarkable years, imposed her will on a fractious, rundown nation — breaking the unions, triumphing in a far-off war, and selling off state industries at a record pace. She left behind a leaner government and more prosperous nation by the time a mutiny ousted her from No. 10 Downing Street.
Future British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher with her parents and sister, Muriel in 1945. Photo: Keystone Features, File
Thatcher's spokesman, Tim Bell, said the former prime minister died Monday morning of a stroke. Flags were flown at half-staff at Buckingham Palace, Parliament and Downing Street for the 87 year old. Queen Elizabeth II authorized Thatcher to have a ceremonial funeral—a step short of a state funeral—to be
Margaret Thatcher, then Margaret Roberts, a young chemist, working in a laboratory in England In 1950. The Future "Iron Lady" was then the youngest female Conservative candidate in British history. Photo: Keystone-France, File
held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London with military honors.
Margaret Roberts, later Thatcher, the youngest candidate in the Conservative Party, plans her election campaign in 1950. Photo: Chris Ware, File
Margaret Thatcher (then Margaret Roberts), The Youngest Candidate Of The Conservative Party During Her Election Campaign In Dartford In 1950. [There are too many capitalization errors here to even begin with the "sics."] Photo: Keystone-France, File
Conservative candidate Margaret Roberts accompanies four voters on the piano in a sing-song after a brief political argument in the bar of The Bull Inn in 1950. Photo: Keystone, File
For admirers, Thatcher was a savior who rescued Britain from ruin and laid the groundwork for an extraordinary economic renaissance. For critics, she was a heartless tyrant who ushered in an era of greed that kicked the weak out onto the streets and let the rich become filthy rich.
"Let us not kid ourselves, she was a very divisive figure," said Bernard Ingham, Thatcher's press secretary for her entire term. "She was a real toughie. She was a patriot with a great love for this country, and she raised the standing of Britain abroad."
Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party's youngest candidate for the General Election, Margaret Thatcher, circa 1905 [sic], English Conservative Politician [sic], who in 1979 became the first woman to be Prime Minister of Great Britain. Photo: Popperfoto, File
Thatcher was the first — and still only — female prime minister in Britain's history. But she often found feminists tiresome and was not above using her handbag as a prop to underline her swagger and power. A grocer's daughter, she rose to the top of Britain's snobbish hierarchy the hard way, and envisioned a classless society that rewarded hard work and determination.
British Conservative Party candidate for Dartford, Margaret Roberts (later Margaret Thatcher) buys a copy of The Evening News from a street vendor during a tour of the constituency, 24th January 1950. Photo: Chris Ware, File
British Conservative Party candidate for Dartford, Margaret Roberts (later Margaret Thatcher) with voters during a tour of the constituency, 24th January 1950. At 23 [sic], Roberts was the youngest ever female candidate to run for the Conservatives. Photo: Chris Ware, File
British Conservative Party candidate for Dartford, Margaret Roberts with voters during a tour of the constituency, 24th January 1950. At 23 [sic], Roberts was the youngest ever female candidate to run for the Conservatives. Photo: Chris Ware, File
Future British Prime MInister Margaret Roberts studying a parliamentary reference book with a colleague in 1950 during her period as Britain's youngest parliamentary candidate. Photo: Chris Ware, File
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, then Miss Margaret Roberts, attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace, as a Conservative MP in 1950. Photo: Central Press, File
Margaret Roberts, Conservative candidate for Dartford, Kent and youngest woman candidate in the election, talking to dustmen during her election campaign in 1951. Photo: Central Press, File
She was a trailblazer who at first believed trailblazing impossible: Thatcher told the Liverpool Daily Post in 1974 that she did not think a woman would serve as party leader or prime minister during her lifetime.
But once in power, she never showed an ounce of doubt.
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, nee Roberts, Conservative politician with her husband Denis in 1951. Photo: Keystone Features, File
Thatcher could be intimidating to those working for her: British diplomats sighed with relief on her first official visit to Washington, D.C., as prime minister to find that she was relaxed enough to enjoy a glass of whiskey and a half-glass of wine during an embassy lunch, according to official documents.
Margaret Thatcher, the youngest Conservative candidate for the General Election at 26 [sic], pictured canvassing Mrs Rossiter on Attlee Drive, Dartford in 1951. Photo: Popperfoto, File
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, nee Roberts, on a canvassing tour of her constituency in 1951. Photo: Fred Morley, File [The campaign poster behind her belies the caption.]
Like her close friend and political ally Ronald Reagan, Thatcher seemed motivated by an unshakable belief that free markets would build a better country than reliance on a strong, central government. Another thing she shared with the American president: a tendency to reduce problems to their basics, choose a path, and follow it to the end, no matter what the opposition.
British Conservative Party candidate for Dartford, Margaret Roberts (later [sic] Margaret Thatcher) with foreman bricklayer John Hayes during a canvassing tour of the constituency, 13th October 1951. The men are working on the Temple Hill Estate. Photo: Keystone, File
The newly elected MP for Finchley, Margaret Thatcher arrives at the House of Commons in 1959. Photo: Manchester Daily Express, File
Politics, Personalities, pic: November 1959, Conservative M,P, [sic] for Finchley Margaret Thatcher, portrait, Margaret Thatcher, (born 1925) English Conservative politician, who in 1979 became the first woman to be Prime Minister of Great Britain (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images) Photo: Popperfoto, File
She formed a deep attachment to the man she called "Ronnie" — some spoke of it as a schoolgirl crush. Still, she would not back down when she disagreed with him on important matters, even though the United States was the richer and vastly stronger partner in the so-called "special relationship."
Conservative MP Margaret Thatcher pictured with her two children in 1961. Photo: Popperfoto, File
Thatcher was at her brashest when Britain was challenged. When Argentina's military junta seized the remote Falklands Islands from Britain in 1982, she did not hesitate, even though her senior military advisers said it might not be feasible to reclaim the islands.
Conservative MP Margaret Thatcher has fun on a ski run in Battersea Park with instructor Joe Hoki in 1962. Photo: Reg Lancaster, File
She simply would not allow Britain to be pushed around, particularly by military dictators, said Ingham, who recalls the Falklands War as the tensest period of Thatcher's three terms in power. When diplomacy failed, she dispatched a military task force that accomplished her goal, despite the naysayers.
Margaret Thatcher, then parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance, on vacation at the mountains in 1962. Photo: Keystone-France, File
"That required enormous leadership," Ingham said. "This was a formidable undertaking, this was a risk with a capital R-I-S-K, and she demonstrated her leadership by saying she would give the military their marching orders and let them get on with it."
Conservative member of Parliament for Finchley and Joint Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry Pensions and National Insurance, Mrs, Margaret Thatcher, addresses the Conservative Party Conference in 1963. Photo: Popperfoto, File
This is a 1969 file photo showing Margaret Thatcher. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, Aprilo 8, 2013. Photo: File
Edward Heath with Margaret Thatcher at the opening session of the Conservative Conference in 1970. Photo: Popperfoto, File
FILE - In a Feb. 4, 1975 file photo, Margaret Thatcher gets a kiss from her husband Denis in London, Feb. 4, 1975, after she had come out on top with 130 votes in the first round of the election for the Conservative party leadership. Thatchers former spokesman, Tim Bell, said that the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died Monday morning, April 8, 2013, of a stroke. She was 87 years old.
British politician Margaret Thatcher leaving her Chelsea home to attend the second ballot in the election for the leadership of the Conservative party in 1975. Photo: Roger Jackson, File
British Conservative leader, Margaret Thatcher, faces the press outside London's Europa Hotel, after her victory in the leadership election in 1975. Photo: Frank Barratt, File
Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher after being confirmed as the new party leader and Leader of the Opposition, circa 1975. Thatcher had been elected leader ten days earlier. Photo: John Downing, File
English politician Margaret Thatcher, (Baroness Thatcher), leader of the Opposition, outside a polling station in Chelsea, London, to cast her vote in the Common Market Referendum in 1975. Photo: Keystone, File
Margaret Thatcher at a press conference in 1975. Photo: Graham Wood, File
Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher pictured during a visit to Finchley Fire Station in 1976. Photo: Popperfoto, File
The future British Prime Minister, then leader of the Opposition, accompanying on clarinet in 1976. Photo: Keystone-France, File
FILE - In this Sept. 14, 1977 file photo, British Conservative Party Leader Margaret Thatcher listens to a reporters [sic] question during a press conference at the British Embassy in Washington. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
Future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher packing Creme Eggs on a visit to the Cadbury factory on April 20, 1979. Photo: Keystone, /
Margaret Thatcher holds up shopping bags to show the price difference in 1979. Photo: Manchester Daily Express, File
Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party leader, looks a little concerned after casting her vote in the General election in 1979. Photo: Rolls Press/Popperfoto, File
Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher on the campaign trail during the General Election campaign, Margaret Thatcher, English Conservative politician, who in 1979 became the first woman to be Prime Minister of Great Britain. Photo: Popperfoto, File
Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a ball to celebrate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference hosted by President Kenneth Kaunda in Lusaka, Zambia, October 1979. Photo: Tom Stoddart Archive, File
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 1979 file photo, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reviews the honor guard at the White House in Washington, as President Jimmy Carter follows. At left in Col. Stanley Bonta, commander of the guard. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
FILE - This is a 1980 file photo showing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, circa 1980. Photo: Larry Ellis Collection, File
FILE - In this June 23, 1982 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gestures with her pen as she answers a reporters question during a news conference at the United Nations. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
**FILE**US Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O'Connor,left,is greeted by Britain Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during a visit in a July 25, 1984 file photo. O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court, said Friday July 1, 2005 she is retiring. (AP Photo/File) Ran on: 07-02-2005 Justice designate O'Connor (right), with (from left) Nancy Reagan, Chief Justice Warren Burger, President Ronald Reagan. Ran on: 07-02-2005 Justice-designate O'Connor (right), with (from left) Nancy Reagan, Chief Justice Warren Burger, President Ronald Reagan. Photo: AP
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (right) holding a chimpanzee in 1985. Photo: Keystone, File
Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, views photographers during an election campaign photo call in 1985. Photo: Tom Stoddart Archive, File
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher out walking in a park with her son Mark, circa 1985. Photo: John Downing, File
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, circa 1985. Photo: David Montgomery, File
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher stands in a British tank during a visit to British forces in Fallingbostel, some 120km (70 miles) south of Hamburg, Germany. on Sept. 17, 1986. Thatchers former spokesman, Tim Bell, said that the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died Monday morning, April 8, 2013, of a stroke. She was 87. Photo: AP
FILE - In this June 12, 1987 file photo, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher waves to supporters from Conservative Party headquarters in London after claiming victory in Britain's general election. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: File
President Bush, accompanied by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, addresses the Aspen Institute Symposium in Aspen Colorado on August 02, 1990.
FILE This Wednesday, Nov. 28, 1990 file photo shows Margaret Thatcher making a statement to reporters as she leaves No. 10 Downing Street, Westminster on for Buckingham Palace where she will resign as Prime Minister to Queen Elizabeth II. It seems a strange sight: The president of the United States, sometimes called the most powerful person in the world, breaking down in tears thanking campaign workers for their tireless _ and ultimately successful _ work on his behalf. But Barack Obama isn't the only world leader unashamed or unable to avoid being seen crying in public. The enduring image of Margaret Thatcher's departure from office is the tearful face captured by photographers in 1990 as she left the prime minister's official residence at 10 Downing Street for the last time after 11 years as prime minister.(AP Photo/Martin Cleaver) Photo: Martin Cleaver, STF
[What an idiotic comparison! Mrs. Thatcher was a woman, she wept over 20 years before "Obama" did, and she did so for a much more important reason.]
President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tour the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California, February 4, 1991. Thatcher's husband Denis is at right. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian) Photo: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN
FILE - Czech President Vaclav Havel, left, talks to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as they meet at Prague Castle in this Nov. 16, 1999 file photo. Havel, the dissident playwright who wove theater into politics to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia and become a hero of the epic struggle that ended the Cold War, died Sunday Dec. 18, 2011 in Prague. He was 75. (AP Photo/Stanislav Peska/CTK) Photo: STANISLAV PESKA
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stands with former prime ministers Tony Blair, from left, Margaret Thatcher, Sir Edward Heath, James Callaghan and John Major in Downing Street, Monday April 29, 2002, before a celebratory royal Golden Jubilee dinner. Photo: TERRY O'NEIL, AP
Patti Davis, left, Nancy Reagan, Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwazrenegger, and Margaret Thatcher during the interment ceremony for President Friday, June 11, 2004 at the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Andrew Winning) Photo: ANDREW WINNING
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, arrives at a Falklands War commemoration at Horseguards Parade, London, Sunday June 17, 2007. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were amongst those who attended to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1982 Falklands conflict. (AP Photo/Ian Jones, Pool) Photo: IAN JONES
FILE- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, gestures to members of the media following her return home from hospital suffering from a broken arm, in central London, in this file photos dated Monday June 29, 2009. 87-year old Thatcher is recuperating at an unnamed hospital, Friday Dec. 21, 2012, after an operation to remove a bladder growth, which was "completely satisfactory", according to adviser Tim Bell, who did not give further details. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File) Photo: LEFTERIS PITARAKIS, STF
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is assisted in the House of Lord's [sic] during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster, London Tuesday May 25, 2010. Photo: Arthur Edwards, AP Photo: File
FILE - This is a Tuesday, June, 8, 2010 file photo of Britian's Prime Minister David Cameron poses with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. Photo: Alastair Grant,File
Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher Photo: Scott Barbour
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