MARGARET ROBERTS THATCHER - UNITED KINGDOM

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
06239529
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
U
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
March 16, 2022
Document Release Date: 
January 11, 2016
Sequence Number: 
Case Number: 
F-2014-01469
Publication Date: 
December 3, 1979
File: 
Body: 
Approved for Release: 2014/10/24 006239529 Margaret Roberts THATCHER Prime Minister (since May 1979) Addressed as: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party's self- proclaimed crusader for the economic revival of Great Britain, is the first woman to become British Prime Minister; she is also the first European woman to reach the top national position. Thatcher earned that distinction after the elections of 3 May 1979, in which her party gained a comfortable 43-seat majority in Parliament; she has been party leader since February 1975. During her first seven months as Prime Minister, she has fulfilled several of her campaign promises: she has made substantial reductions in personal income taxes, prepared plans to sell some of Britain's nationalized industries, had some success in reforming the trade unions, and begun a pruning of the bureaucracy and of government involvement in the economy. UNITED KINGDOM Thatcher visited the United States in 1967 as a Foreign Leader Grantee. On a return visit in 1975 she met with then President Gerald Ford in Washington, and in 1977 she met with President Jimmy Carter. Since becoming Prime Minister, she has taken several trips abroad. After graduating from Oxford with honors in chemistry, Margaret Roberts studied law, spe- cializing in tax legislation and patents. She enjoys listening to music by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin and reading detective stories, historical novels and biographies. Her favorite food is broiled Dover sole, and her favorite drinks are Cointreau and Scotch and soda. She does not smoke. The Prime Minister, 54, has been married since 1951 to Denis Thatcher, who retired as executive director of the Burmah Oil Company in May 1975. The Thatchers have 26-year-old twins, Mark and Carol. CR M 79-16862 3 December 1979 Approved for Release: 2014/10/24 006239529