MARGARET ROBERTS THATCHER - UNITED KINGDOM

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01430551
• 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: November 6, 1986

Approved for Release: 2014/10/24 001430551
Margaret Roberts THATCHER
Prime Minister (since May 1979)
Leader of the Conservative Party since 1975,
Margaret Thatcher is the first woman ever to serve
as prime minister of Britain or of any European
country. 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.
The daughter of a grocer and a seamstress,
Thatcher 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
has held several important government and party positions, including those of Secretary of
State for Education and Science (1970-74) and shadow deputy chancellor of the exchequer
(1974-75).
UNITED KINGDOM
Thatcher, 61, 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.
LDA M 86-12826
6 November 1986
32.165
Approved for Release: 2014/10/24 001430551