Margaret Thatcher milestones
Published:Monday | April 8, 2013 | 12:47 PM
AP –
Milestones in the life and career of Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:
Oct. 13, 1925: Born in Grantham, central England.
June 1947: Graduates from Oxford with chemistry degree.
Dec. 13, 1951: Marries wealthy oil executive Denis Thatcher.
Aug. 15, 1953: Gives birth to twins, Mark and Carol.
June 1, 1954: Qualifies as lawyer.
Oct. 8, 1959: Elected to Parliament.
June 20, 1970: Becomes education secretary.
Feb. 11, 1975: Elected leader of Conservative Party.
May 3, 1979: Wins national elections, becomes Europe's first female prime minister.
March 1, 1981: Refuses to concede demands of Irish Republican Army convicts for prisoner-of-war status in Northern Ireland, inspiring a hunger strike. Ten inmates starve to death over following seven months.
Sept. 14, 1981: Dumps or reassigns most of her moderate ministers in Cabinet reshuffle.
April 2, 1982: Argentina invades Falkland Islands, a British territory in the South Atlantic. Thatcher sends a naval task force that recovers the islands after a 74-day war.
June 9, 1983: Wins second term.
Oct. 12, 1984: Survives IRA assassination bid after time bomb explodes near her room in hotel hosting Conservative Party conference. Five others killed, 32 wounded.
Dec. 15, 1984: Becomes first Western leader to meet Mikhail Gorbachev as he visits London prior to becoming Soviet Union's leader.
Dec. 19, 1984: Signs accord with Chinese Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang to cede the British colony of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
Nov. 15, 1985: Signs Anglo Irish Agreement that gives the Republic of Ireland a role in Northern Ireland for the first time. Move infuriates province's Protestant majority.
Jan. 9, 1986: Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine resigns in dispute over moves to rescue the failing Westland helicopter company. Triggers a Cabinet crisis that pushes Thatcher close to resignation.
April 15, 1986: Allows US to bomb Libya with aircraft based in Britain.
Aug. 1, 1986: Cabinet unanimously supports her resistance to sanctions against South Africa.
March 28, 1987: Travels to Moscow for talks with Gorbachev, strengthens role as key player in arms control negotiations.
June 11, 1987: Wins third term.
Jan. 3, 1988: Becomes Britain's longest continuously serving prime minister of 20th century.
Nov. 22, 1990: Announces resignation after party revolt.
Nov. 28, 1990: Succeeded by John Major as prime minister.
June 26, 1992: Becomes Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, a member of the unelected House of Lords with a lifetime title.
March 22, 2002: Ends public speaking after a series of strokes.
June 26, 2003: Her husband dies.
April 8, 2013: Dies of stroke.
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