Lord Bell, her spokesman, said: “It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning.”
Known as the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher governed Britain from 1979 to 1990 and will go down in history not only as Britain’s first female prime minister, but as the woman who transformed Britain’s economy in addition to being a formidable rival on the international stage.
Of modern British prime ministers, only Lady Thatcher’s girlhood hero, Winston Churchill, acquired a higher international reputation.
Many features of the modern globalised economy – monetarism, privatisation, deregulation, small government, lower taxes and free trade – were all promoted as a result of policies she employed to reverse Britain’s economic decline.
Many regard Thatcher’s reign as Prime Minister as a key point in British history as she took a country that was demoralised, dishonoured & bankrupt, and left it prosperous, confident & free.
Many of the UKs leading entrepreneurs have spoken about hearing the news of her death.
Sir Richard Branson lead the tributes saying: “One of Britain’s great leaders. It was a privilege to spend time with her…”
Brent Hoberman, co-founder of LastMinute.com said: Margaret Thatcher what an amazing positive impact she had on so many aspects of british life… Lots to learn from…
John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “Baroness Thatcher’s leadership took the UK out of the economic relegation zone and into the first division. What Baroness Thatcher did to reshape the British economy gave us a generation of growth.
