Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, who led her country to victory in the Falkland War and helped guide the United States and the Soviet Union through the last years of the Cold War, died on April 8 in London. She was 87.
Thatcher had been in poor health for months and was suffering from dementia. Her spokesman, Tim Bell, said she died from a stroke at the Ritz Hotel.
Thatcher was known as the Iron Lady of British politics and led the Conservative Party to three straight election wins from May 1979 to Nov. 1990 — a position held longer than any other British politician in the 20th century.
Mikhail Gorbachev, first and last Soviet Union president, wrote in a recent article in The Guardian that he valued his political and human relationship with Thatcher, especially during his time in politics.
“She was genuinely interested in what was happening in our country…and sincerely wished for our (Soviet Union) process of change to succeed,” Gorbachev said.
In 1994, Thatcher came to Harding University as an American Studies Institute speaker. David Burks, president of Harding University, said that she received a standing ovation that night.
“She was the best speaker I have ever heard as part of the lecture series,” Burks said. “She had the rare ability to capture an audience immediately.”
Afterward, a reception was held at the Burks’ home. Burks said she was easy to talk with, visited with his family and acted as if she had known them all for years.
In addition to Thatcher’s personality and speaking abilities, Burks said he believes she was a great world leader.
“I believe her work as a world leader along with that of former presidents Bush and Reagan and Gorbachev led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall,” Burks said. “What a legacy.”
After receiving the news of Thatcher’s death, Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a visit to continental Europe to return to Britain. Queen Elizabeth II authorized a ceremonial funeral with military honors at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Also on that day, former President George W. Bush said, “She was an inspirational leader who stood on principle and guided her nation with confidence and clarity.”
The White House, in respect to Thatcher’s death, issued this statement: “The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”
