Zeke Wang
The first female Prime Minister and a powerful political figure, Margaret Thatcher, dies at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke on April 8. British prime minister's office announces that Thatcher’s funeral will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with military honors and private cremation. Thatcher ruled Britain for 21 years, from 1979 to 1990, she was a controversial leader and was a very strong politician when there were very few women in politics, and was also given the nickname “Iron Lady” by the Soviet press.
Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925, in England. Thatcher lived in an apartment above a grocery store her father owned, which is unlike many politicians at the time who came from wealth. Thatcher studied chemistry at Oxford University and later became a member of Parliament. She became the Prime Minister at the age of 53 and was dominant until 1990. President George Bush awarded Thatcher a U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1991, she also suffered from many small stokes and her husband died in 2003, despite all this, she still attended Ronald Regan’s funeral in 2004, calling Regan a “dear friend.”
Margaret Thatcher connects to the course theme of an individual’s relationship with mass society. Margaret was the first woman to become Prime Minister and was a firm politician, that’s how she got the nickname “Iron Lady” from a Soviet Journalist. Some argue that she was the best Prime Minister in history while others say she was the worst, and arguments became more fierce after her death. Russians still consider Margaret Thatcher one of the most respected British politicians today, and there was even a movie made by her, see the trailer here.
Questions:
1. Do you think the nickname “Iron Lady” fits Margaret Thatcher?
2. Do you think people like Margaret Thatcher encourage more women in politics?
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Hey Zeke, um, this story was from 2013! Langston Sweicki gave a killer CE Presentation about her to 1st period that year if I'm not mistaken. She's an interesting Cold War figure to be sure, backing Reagan's re-escalation of the arms race with the Soviets, and also making the UK more of a market based economy that favored economic growth over equality by breaking the power of labor unions.
ReplyDelete2. Do you think people like Margaret Thatcher encourage more women in politics?
ReplyDeleteYes. A lot of the time, people are scared to do something because it hasn't been done before, but once they see that it IS possible, they are willing to try. I think the same holds true with Margaret Thatcher. Men have, more often than not, been the ones involved in politics because of gender stereotypes, with women getting less education and staying home with the family. However, as more and more women became involved with politics as time went on, they inspired others like them to do the same. Those who were inspired may have been scared to get involved before because no one else had, but once they saw that other women were becoming involved, they worked up the courage to become involved themselves. I think Margaret Thatcher is one of the women who inspired/inspires other women to get more involved with politics, especially with the prestigious position that she held and her and accomplishments.