Thatcher was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, to Alfred Roberts, a grocer and Methodist lay preacher, and Beatrice Ethel Roberts (née Stephenson). She studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, where she was the president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. After graduating, she worked as a research chemist before becoming a barrister. She married Denis Thatcher in 1951 and they had two children, Mark and Carol.
Thatcher entered politics in the 1950s, unsuccessfully contesting Dartford in 1950 and then winning Finchley in 1959. She served in the Conservative Shadow Cabinets of Edward Heath from 1967 to 1970 and as Secretary of State for Education and Science from 1970 to 1974.
Thatcher became Leader of the Conservative Party in 1975 and Prime Minister in 1979, following the Conservatives' victory in the general election. She is associated with the introduction of a number of economic and social reforms, including:
* The reduction of the power of the trade unions
* The privatisation of state-owned industries
* The introduction of free market policies
* The reduction of income taxes
* The increase of interest rates to control inflation
Thatcher's policies were often controversial and she was criticised by some for their negative effects on the British economy and society. However, she is also credited with helping to revitalise the British economy and for making Britain a more influential country on the world stage.
Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in 1990 and was made a life peer, taking the title Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. She continued to be active in public life until she died in 2013 at the age of 87.
Thatcher was a complex and controversial figure, but there is no doubt that she was one of the most significant political leaders of the 20th century.