MARGARET ROBERTS THATCHER - UNITED KINGDOM

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06239546
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2016
• Case Number: F-2014-01469
• Publication Date: June 20, 1990

UN-1:51"--
Approved for Release: 2014/10/24 006239546
Margaret Roberts THATCHER
Prime Minister (since May 1979)
Addressed as: Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher is the first woman to serve
as prime minister of a European country. In 1987
she became the first British prime minister in 150
years to be elected to a third successive term in
office. She is a self-proclaimed crusader for free
enterprise, free trade, and economic revival. She
has frequently declared her support for a strong
NATO, an independent� British nuclear deterrent,
and the need for balanced and verifiable arms
control measures. Thatcher met with President
George Bush in Bermuda in April 1990; in June she
traveled to the Soviet Union, where she held
discussions with Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev.
UNITED KINGDOM
The daughter of a grocer and a seamstress, Thatcher was born on 13 October 1925.
She won a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford, and graduated with honors in
chemistry in 1947. While there she was president of the University Conservative
Association. After working for four years as a research chemist in an industrial firm, she
began to study law, specializing in tax legislation and patents. A member of Parliament
since 1959, Thatcher held several important government and party positions before
becoming Prime Minister, including those of Secretary of State for Education and Science
(1970-74) and shadow deputy chancellor of the exchequer (1974-75). She has been leader of
the Conservative Party since 1975.
Thatcher enjoys listening to Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin and reading detective
stories, historical novels, and biographies. Her husband, Denis, is a retired oil company
executive. The Thatchers have twins, Mark and Carol.
20 June 1990
Approved for Release: 2014/10/24 006239546